GIFT  OF 
Class  of  1902. 


WILD  LIFE  IN 
^LJFORNL\ 

SOME  OF  ITS  BIRDS,  ANIMALS 
AND  FLOWERS         ::    :: 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


SOME  OF  ITS 


BIRDS,  ANIMALS  AND  FLOWERS 


By 
FRANK  A.  LEACH 


OAKLAND,  CALIFORNIA 


TRIBUNE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

1921 


Copyrighted,  1920 

by  the 

Tribune  Publishing  Company 

Oakland,  Calif. 

•(tiff  ti   fiuis   ol     lie 


FOREWORD 

The  series  of  Nature  Studies  contained  herein  were  published  first 
in  The  Oakland  TRIBUNE.  When  it  was  learned  that  Mr.  Leach 
had  set  down  the  results  of  his  many  years  of  observations  of  Califor- 
nia's wild  life,  The  TRIBUNE  at  once  requested  the  privilege  of 
placing  them  before  its  readers.  The  sound  judgment  of  this  has  been 
more  than  confirmed  by  the  testimonials  of  delight  and  benefit  from 
the  readers. 

Mr.  Leach  has  produced  something  which  any  naturalist  or  lover 
of  the  open  places  would  be  proud  to  call  his  own.  He  has  written  with 
charm,  simplicity,  knowledge  and  a  literary  finish  which  give  his  studies 
an  uplifting  quality,  for  both  old  and  young  folk. 

FREDERICK  FAULKNER. 


5ti/^. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


Wild  Life  in  California 

By  FRANK  A.  LEACH 


CHAPTER  1 


THE  DESERT  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 

Its  Wonders.     Its  Wild  Life.     Its  Beauties  and  Dangers 
The  Hermit  of  Palm  Canyon 


One  evening  in  the  middle  of  March,  my 
son  Ed,  his  wife  and  little  daughter,  Vir- 
ginia, and  self  left  our  home  in  Piedmont  for 
the  Sixteenth  street  depot,  Oakland,  prelimi- 
nary to  a  visit  to  Palm  Springs,  Riverside 
county,    in    Southern    California. 

We  checked  our  baggage  to  Whitewater,  the 
railroad  end  of  the  trip,  and  boarded  the  train 
which   was   to   take   us   to   Los   Angeles. 

After  getting  located  in  our  reservations 
and  settling  with  the  conductors  for  the  night 
I  thought  I  would  go  into  the  buffet  car, 
smoke  and  read  until  bedtime.  The  car  was 
crowded.  The  only  vacant  seat  brought  me 
next  to  a  party  of  politicians  who  were  having 
one  of  those  "talks"  so  much  enjoyed  and  so 
commonly  indulged  in  when  two  or  more  kin- 
dred souls,  who  think  it  their  destiny  on  this 
earth  to  make  and  unmake  statesmen,  meet 
with  a  little  time  on  their  hands  .to  spare. 
They  were  all  men  well  known  in  the  State  by 
their  activities  in  politics,  who  would  not  feel 
complimented  to  be  styled  politicians,  for  they 
were  not,  in  the  offensive  sense  of  the  term. 
They  did  not  recognize  the  writer,  for  which 
I  was  thankful,  as  I  was  now  glad  to  escape 
becoming  involved  in  discussions  of  matters 
that  no  longer  interested  me  more  than  be- 
comes an  ordinary  citizen.  They  talked 
rather  loudly.  I  could  not  help  hearing  every 
word  said.  I  could  not  move  away,  for  there 
was  no  other  vacant  seat  in  the  car.  I  tried 
to  read.  I  did  turn  over  several  pages  of  my 
book,  every  one  of  which  I  read  and  reread, 
but  when  conversation  turned  upon  men  that 
I  knew  quite  well  and  others  that  were  inti- 
mate friends  it  was  difficult  to  follow  the 
lines  in  more  than  a  mechanical  way.  After 
finishing  my  smoke  I  concluded  to  go  to  bed 
and  read  where  I  would  not  be  an  unwilling 
listener  to  the  conversation  of  others  and 
there  would  be  no  one  to  disturb  me.  When 
I  went  to  my  car  and  threw  open  the  cur- 
tains to  my  berth,  to  my  astonishment  there 
was  a  big  fat  man  apparently  sound  asleep 
in  the  bed.  I  quietly  closed  the  curtains  and 
went  to  the  porter  at  the  other  end  of  the 
car  and  asked  for  an  explanation.     He  didn't 


know  anything  about  it  and  seemed  to  care 
less,  but  finally  said  he  would  call  the  con- 
ductor. This  official  looked  at  my  ticket 
and  said  the  berth  was  mine  and  that  the 
man  had  no  business  there.  He  called  a 
couple  of  brakemen  and  the  three  men  went 
to  the  berth,  I  supposed  with  the  purpose  of 
ejecting  the  intruder.  Whether  the  job,  con- 
sidering the  size  of  the  man,  or  for  some 
other  reason,  looked  to  be  too  great  an  un- 
dertaking, I  did  not  learn.  However  it  was, 
in  a  short  time  the  conductor  came  to  me 
and  asked  if  I  would  not  take  another  lower 
berth,  which  of  course  was  all  the  same  to 
me,  so  I  consented.  He  said  some  uncom- 
plimentary things  about  the  other  fellow,  but 
did  not  offer  any  explanation  of  why  he  let 
him  remain  in  the  berth,  though  he  said  the 
man    knew   he    had   no   right   there. 

I  could  not  help  but  notice  the  great  in- 
fluence over  the  manners  and  civility  of 
grown  people  wrought  by  the  actions  and 
speeches  of  a  bright,  innocent,  sweet  little 
thing  like  Virginia.  The  conductors  and 
brakemen,  who  are  generally  short,  if  not 
gruff,  and  porters  who  are  stolid,  largely 
made  so  by  constant  contact  with  unreason- 
able and  inconsiderate  travelers,  were  all 
smiles  and  ready  to  surrender  everything 
when   in  the   presence  of  that  dear  little  girl. 

After  a  stop  in  Los  Angeles  we  boarded  an- 
other train  which  was  to  convey  us  to  White- 
water, situated  about  nine  miies  from  Palm 
Springs.  This  little  town  is  located  on  that 
part  of  desert  lying  between  the  San  Bernar- 
dino and  San  Jacinto  ranges  of  mountains  in 
the  extreme  southerly  part  of  California.  This 
particular  part  of  the  desert  is  that  portion  of 
the  great  Colorado  Desert  that  extends  into 
the  State  of  California.  Palm  Springs  is  a 
little  town  of  about  forty  or  fifty  houses,  in- 
cluding a  school,  church,  hotels,  stores  and 
garages. 

Our  train  took  us  out  through  the  famous 
San  Gabriel  Valley,  passing  Pomona,  Ontario, 
Oblton,  Beaumont.  Banning  and  several  other 
towns  of  lesser  importance.  For  the  distance 
of  ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  Los  Angeles  the 


6 


WIED-  LfFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


land  seemed  to  be  *fn*dei»a  h'igh«  stato  of"- euRi-* ' 
ration  or  "intensified  farming."  Beyond  to 
Banning  orchards,  grain  and  hayfields  pre- 
dominated in  the  use  of  the  land  adjacent  to 
the  railroad,  about  all  of  which  appeared  to 
be   in  a  fairly  prosperous  condition. 

Leaving  Banning  we  passed  into  the  desert. 
The  desert  is  not  without  vegetation.  In 
fact  it  is  covered  with  shrubs,  plants  and 
cactus,  with  here  and  there  growths  of  Palo 
Verde  and  smoke  trees  and  palms.  Probably 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  all  is  a  shrub  that 
grows  from  two  to  possibly  ten  feet  in  height, 
called  the  Creosote  Bush  or  L»arrea  Mexicana. 
It  is  an  evergreen  and  at  that  time  was 
covered  with  small  yellow  flowers.  It  is  a 
resinous  shrub  and  emits  something  of  a 
creosote,  or  carbolic  acid  smell,  which  we 
noted  while  tramping  through  it,  for  some- 
time before  we  learned  from  what  it 
emanated.  It  is  said  that  in  certain  localities 
on  the  desert  the  branches  of  the  shrub  be- 
come incrusted  with  a  gum-like  substance 
identical  with  the  shellac  imported  from  the 
Orient,  and  that  it  is  used  by  the  Indians  for 
cementing  purposes.  The  leaves  and  young 
branches  are  said  to  possess  medicinal  virtues. 

The  next  most  common  plant  is  a  per- 
renial  ordinarily  with  leaves  of  the  dusty 
miller  gray  shade.  The  plant  rarely  grows 
more  than  eighteen  inches  high  and  generally 
covers  a  space  of  from  two  to  three  feet  in 
circumference.  From  this  area  hundreds  of 
naked  green  stems  are  sent  up,  surmounted 
with  yellow  composite  flowers  of  about  an 
inch  or  more  in  diameter.  The  disk  or  cen- 
ter, as  well  as  the  rays,  are  bright  yellow. 
We  saw  a  few  plants  where  the  centers  of  the 
flower  were  dark  brown,  and  in  Chino  Canyon, 
2000  feet  above  the  desert,  we  found  many 
of  these  plants  where  the  leaves  instead  of 
being  gray  were   green. 

There  are  a  few  other  gray  plants,  among 
which  is  a  species  of  Yerba  Santa,  with  a 
violet  flower.  These  plants,  however,  are 
not   as   common   as   the   first  mentioned. 

Next  to  the  yellow  flowered  gray  plant  in 
importance  as  to  quantity  is  the  cactus  family. 
We  noted  five  varieties,  all  of  which  were 
in  bloom,  giving  by  far  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  the  blossoms  we  saw  on  the  desert.  Some 
of  the  cactus  bore  red  flowers,  some  showy 
pink  blossoms,  and  others  yellow. 

At  Whitewater  an  auto  stage  meets  pas- 
sengers, bound  for  Palm  Springs,  so  at  this 
point  we  left  the  train  and  were  soon  on  the 
way  to  the  springs.  The  road  in  sections 
was  in  fine  condition.  Being  State  highway 
it  had  been  paved,  but  flood  waters  had 
damaged   and   washed   it  out   in   places. 

Palm  Springs  is  an  oasis  of  the  desert,  but 
not  naturally  so.  Thirty  years  or  more  ago 
somebody  conceived  the  idea  of  creating  a 
town  or  city  on  the  spot.  The  land  was  ac- 
quired and  surveyed  into  blocks  and  streets, 
with  lots  of  27%  feet  frontage.  Water  from 
a  neighboring  canyon  was  brought  to  the 
site  and  improvements  in  the  way  of  build- 
ings and  the  planting  of  trees  was  begun.  We 
were  told  that  the  lots  were  sold  rapidly  and 
that    one    day's   sales   amounted    to    over     one 


hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars.  Prob- 
ably the  reason  for  locating  the  proposed  city 
at  the  spot  was  due  to  the  presence  there  of 
an  immense  hot  spring.  Another  enthusiastic 
person  located  a  place  about  three  miles 
further  south  where  there  now  is  a  small 
grove  of  palm  trees  growing,  at  which  he 
erected  a  hotel,  beautified  the  grounds  and 
called  it  the  Garden  of  Eden.  He  constructed 
a  narrow  gauge  railroad  to  connect  the  Gar- 
den of  Eden  with  the  Southern  Pacific  rail- 
road, running  the  tracks  to  Palm  Springs 
station  on  the  latter  road.  Nothing  is  left  of 
the  enterprise  now  but  the  grove  of  palm 
trees.  It  failed  for  the  lack  of  patronage,  but 
that  was  before  the  day  of  automobiles  and 
great  increase  of  population  in  the  southern 
part   of   the    State. 

The  immense  hot  spring  just  mentioned 
was  curbed  and  made  to  supply  water  for 
the  bathhouse  that  was  erected,  and  a  small 
hotel  was  built.  Some  of  the  adjoining  lands 
were  planted  out  in  vineyard  and  to  fruit, 
principally  citrus,  but  in  a  small  way.  All 
grew  most  luxuriantly.  For  many  years  there 
was  not  sufficient  patronage  to  justify  keep- 
ing the  hotel  open.  It  fell  into  other  hands 
and  now  with  the  beautiful  grounds  is  a  pri- 
vate  home. 

The  advent  of  the  touring  autos  and  the 
greater  population  in  neighboring  cities 
brought  about  a  change.  The  charm  of  this 
beauty  spot  on  the  desert  with  its  salubrious 
winter  climate  became  known  to  the  people 
of  Los  Angeles,  Pasadena,  San  Diego  and 
other  cities  of  the  south,  and  now  the  trouble 
is  to  take  care  of  all  who  wish  to  visit  the 
place. 

The  area  of  land  that  was  reclaimed  from 
the  conditions  of  the  desert  probably  would 
not  greatly  exceed  fifty  acres.  The  trees 
that  were  planted  upon  the  land  have  reached 
maturity.  .  The  fresh  bright  green  of  the 
citrus  trees,  the  great  spread  of  the  thrifty 
fig  trees,  the  shade  of  the  great  cottonwoods, 
acres  of  green  meadows  and  green  lawns 
about  the  hotel  and  private  grounds,  would  be 
features  of  attraction  almost  anywhere,  but 
here  the  contrast  with  the  desert  is  so  great 
that  the  springs  not  only  appear  as  a  place 
of  beauty,  but  a  delightful  haven  of  rest  and 
retreat. 

Excepting  the  territory  just  described  and 
some  railroad  grant  possessions,  the  desert 
land  thereabouts  has  been  made  an  Indian 
reservation.  A  number  of  Indians  have 
large  holdings  under  cultivation.  Within  re- 
cent years  the  government  has  been  en- 
couraging them  to  plant  orchards  on  quite 
an  extensive  scale,  aiding  them  in  the  pur- 
chase of  trees  and  bringing  water  from  the 
adjacent  mountain  through  the  establishment 
of   a   system    of   irrigating   ditches. 

These  ditches  are  rock  lined  and  cemented 
so  as  to  insure  as  little  loss  of  water  as 
possible.  Several  of  the  Indians  are  graduates 
of  the  well-known  school  near  Riverside.  All 
the  Indians  we  saw  appeared  to  have 
abandoned  the  habits  and  customs  of  their 
forefathers.  There  were  no  loafers  wrapped 
in    blankets    or    shawls    hanging    around      the 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


streets  or  other  places  where  white  people 
congregate,  as  was  common  a  few  years  ago. 
The  men  now  were  as  fully  occupied  with 
business  affairs  and  as  active  as  their  white 
neighbors. 

Their  wives  were  at  home  attending  to 
household  duties,  and  some  of  the  children 
were  in  attendance  at  the  public  school.  And 
what  is  more  to  their  credit  the  school  teacher 
told  me  that  their  children  were  as  bright  and 
as  quick  to  learn  as  the  white  children. 

In  describing  the  location  of  Palm  Springs 
I  should  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  it  is 
situated  on  the  edge  or  western  side  of  the 
desert,  at  the  foot  of  the  San  Jacinto  range 
of  mountains.  In  fact  the  shadow  of  the  high 
San  Jacinto  peak  is  thrown  over  the  town 
comparatively  early  in  the  afternoon  as  the 
setting  sun  drops  behind  the  summit.  This 
mountain  is  nearly  eleven  thousand  feet  high, 
with  several  neighboring  peaks  reaching  six 
to  eight  thousand  feet  of  elevation.  Palm 
Springs  has  an  elevation  of  about  500  feet 
above  sea  level,  but  the  grade  of  the  desert 
toward  the  south  drops  rapidly  and  at  a 
distance  of  fifteen  miles,  or  at  Indio,  the 
floor  of  the  valley  is  twenty-two  feet  below 
the  sea  level,  and  at  a  distance  of  fifty-seven 
miles  further  on,  at  Salton,  the  floor  of  the 
valley  is  over  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet 
below. 

Like  all  other  mountain  ranges,  the  sides 
of  San  Jacinto  range  overshadowing  Palm 
Springs  are  gashed  with  canyons.  Some  are 
insignificant,  but  many  are  deep  and  can  be 
followed  back  into  the  mountains  for  miles. 
Three  miles  north  of  the  springs  is  the  en- 
trance of  Chino  Canyon.  Six  miles  south  is 
the  entrance  of  Palm  Canyon.  Between  the 
last  named  and  the  springs  are  several  other 
canyons,  the  principal  ones  being  Murray. 
Andreas  and  Tahquitz.  The  latter  is  located 
only  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  springs. 
Andreas  four  miles  and  Murray  five.  Tahquitz 
has  a  beautiful  waterfall  made  accessible  by 
an   easy  trail. 

The  features  of  interest  in  Palm  Canyon  is 
the  growth  there  of  numerous  native  palm 
trees  known  in  botanical  circles  as  the 
Washingtonia  filifera.  A  few  of  these  trees 
are  found  in  the  other  canyons  previously 
mentioned,  excepting  in  Tahquitz.  They  also 
appear  in  one  other  canyon  north  of  Chino, 
and  in  several  other  canyons  south  of  Palm 
Canyon.  They  are  more  numerous  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  desert  or  along  the  base 
of  the  San  Bernardino  range.  The  maximum 
height  of  the  trees  is  about  seventy-five  feet, 
the  largest  trees  have  a  trunk  diameter  of 
about  three  feet.  The  huge  fan-like  leaves 
thrust  from  the  top  of  the  trees  give  a  pleas- 
ing shade.  As  the  trunk  ascends  in  growth 
the  leaves  die  and  hang  down,  making  a  thick 
thatch  around  the  trunk,  suggestive  of  a  great 
petticoat.  But  it  is  only  occasionally  you  will 
find  a  large  tree  with  its  petticoat  preserved. 
Fires,  intentional  or  accidental,  have  burned 
them  off.  Unless  the  fires  burn  into  the  top. 
or  green  part,  which  seldom  happens,  the 
trees  are  uninjured.  It  is  said  these  trees 
are    peculiar    to    that    section    of    country    ex- 


tending from  the  margins  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  Colorado  desert  into.  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. They  are  commonly  called  California 
fan   palms. 

We  made  the  hotel,  or  inn,  as  it  is  most 
commonly  called,  our  headquarters.  It  is 
centrally  situated  in  the  territory  that  we 
wished  to  cover  in  our  study  of  nature's  pro- 
ductions. So  it  was  from  this  point  we  made 
daily  excursions  out  on  the  desert  and  to  the 
various  canyons  mentioned.  Generally  we 
took  our  lunches  with  us  and  would  walk 
from  six  to  fifteen  miles.  Some  of  the  places, 
the  larger  canyons  in  particular,  we  visited 
several  times  to  enable  us  to  observe  all  of 
the  features  of  interest,  such  as  the  geological 
formations  and  recent  changes  therein,  the 
flora  peculiar  to  the  section,  and  especially 
some   of  the  desert  insect  life. 

The  remarkable  vigorous  growth  of  the 
numerous  citrus  trees,  the  strong  and  healthy 
appearance  of  the  fig  and  numerous  other 
fruit,  shade  and  ornamental  trees  in  and 
about  the  little  town  suggested  a  soil  con- 
dition of  unusual  fertility.  In  the  hotel 
grounds  there  were  growing  many  beautiful 
trees  of  different  kinds,  among  which  were 
a  couple  of  trees  near  the  office  bearing 
grape  fruit.  These  trees  were  about  twenty 
feet  in  height  and  the  great  size  of  the  fruit 
hanging  from  the  branches  at  once  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  incoming  guests.  Some 
of  the  largest  fruit  measured  within  a  frac- 
tion of  twenty-four  inches  in  circumference, 
which  would  give  them  about  eight  inches 
diameter. 

We  had  not  been  long  in  the  place  before 
we  noted  that  it  was  teeming  with  bird  life, 
with  numerous  songsters.  In  fact  the  air  was 
filled  with  bird  music,  in  which  the  singing 
of  the  linnets  and  Bullock  orioles  was  the 
most  prominent.  The  last  named  was  one 
of  the  most  numerous  birds  around  the 
springs  grounds.  As  the  nesting  season  was 
now*  on  we  found  several  pairs  of  these  birds 
at  work  constructing  the  peculiar  hanging 
nests  for  which  they  are  noted  on  the  under 
side   of  the  big  leaves  of  the  palm   trees. 

A  few  moments'  walking  northerly,  east- 
erly or  southerly  would  take  a  person  beyond 
the  lands  reclaimed  for  town  purposes,  out 
among  the  shrubs,  cactus  and  wild  flowers  of 
the  desert.  The  floor  of  the  desert  consists 
of  what  might  be  roughly  called  coarse  sand, 
but  properly  speaking  it  is  composed  of  the 
erosions  from  the  granite  masses  forming  the 
mountains  bordering  the  desert.  In  the 
course  of  time  where  it  receives  an  abund- 
ance of  water  and  some  humus,  and  is 
worked,  it  seems  to  slowly  decompose  and 
form  soil.  It  should  be  rich  in  some  of  the 
elements  nutritive  to  plant  life,  especially 
potash.  Ordinary  sand  is  composed  almost 
wholly  of  silicia,  which  is  insoluble  and  there- 
fore differs  from  the  so-called  sand  of  the 
desert. 

As  you  approach  the  mouths  of  the  canyons 
from  the  main  level  of  the  desert  this  sand 
becomes  coarser  and  coarser  until  finally  you 
begin  to  encounter  boulders,   then  big  broken 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


rock  masses.  Not  very  long  ago,  geologically 
speaking,  the  valley  of  the  Colorado  Desert 
was  submerged  and  formed  an  arm  of  the 
sea  or  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  while 
in  this  condition  the  comparatively  still  water 
of  the  ocean  prevented  an  extensive  distribu- 
tion of  the  heavier  eroded  parts  that  were 
brought  down  into  the  canyons  from  the 
mountain  sides,  from  whence  they  were 
sluiced  out  by  the  rapidly  flowing  streams 
into  the  ocean  waters  and  deposited  accord- 
ing to  size  and  weight.  The  lightest  material 
was  carried  the  farthest  and  spread  out.  The 
deposition  of  the  erosions  in  this  way  gave 
a  fan  shape  to  the  deposits  and  in  some  cases 
with  a  slope  of  about  one  foot  in  ten  from 
the  mouth  of  the  canyon  to  the  outer  edges 
of  the  fan.  When  the  country  was  elevated 
above  the  ocean  level  once  more  and  the  sea 
had  disappeared,  the  canyon  streams  soon 
cut  channels  down  through  the  loose  material 
of  the  fan  deposits  in  forcing  their  way  to 
the  desert  floor.  In  some  places  we  found 
these  channels  a  hundred  or  more  feet  in 
depth.  The  fans  are  greater  or  less  in  extent 
in  their  intrusion  upon  the  desert  according 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  canyon  from  which 
they  emerged. 

Palm  Canyon,  which  is  the  most  extensive 
in  size  and  length  of  all  the  canyons  in  the 
vicinity  of  Palm  Springs,  as  stated,  is  situated 
south  of  that  place,  and  the  entrance  to  the 
canyon  is  six  miles  from  there  with  an  ele- 
vation of  several  hundred  feet  above  the 
valley.  This  is  the  most  popular  of  all  the 
canyons  by  reason  of  it  being  comparatively 
easy  of  access,  there  being  a  road  which 
enables  autoists  to  run  their  machines  well 
into  the  canyon.  Besides  the  natural  attrac- 
tions which  embrace  the  largest  groves  of 
palm  trees  on  the  west  side  of  the  desert,  a 
nature  man,  or  a  hermit,  makes  his  abode 
there.  The  novelty  of  his  dress,  or  lack  of 
it,  his  accomplishments  as  a  musician,  his 
skill  in  manufacturing  souvenirs,  his  cabin, 
and  the  unusual  appearance  of  the  man  him- 
self, all  combine  to  make  him  an  important 
addition  to  the  features  of  Palm  Canyon, 
especially  with  the  tourists  visiting  the 
springs. 

At  some  period  ages  ago  through  some 
action  of  nature  the  original  channel  of  the 
canyon  appears  to  have  "been  dammed  by  a 
filling  of  rocks  and  earth  to  a  depth  of  more 
than  one  hundred  feet  and  greater  width  from 
wall  to  wall.  The  canyon  stream  there  was 
diverted  in  an  easterly  course  to  a  point  two 
or  three  hundred  yards  distant,  where  it  cut 
a  way  for  itself  through  the  hills,  turning 
north  and  making  a  channel  that  in  a  quar- 
ter mile  or  so  brought  the  waters  back  into 
the  old  channel  some  distance  below  the  dam. 
The  only  practical  way  of  reaching  the  upper 
part  of  the  canyon  is  by  using  a  trail  passing 
over  this  dam.  The  nature  man's  cabin  is 
located  on  the  level  top  of  the  dam  along- 
side the  trail.  Its  location  gives  him  a  com- 
manding view,  especially  down  the  canyon, 
nearly  a  half  mile  to  the  terminus  of  the 
auto  road,  from  which  point  all  further  ex- 
plorations have   to   be  made  on   foot.     It  can 


be  relied  upon  that  few  tourists,  if  any,  start 
up  the  trail  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
nature  man.  The  trail  where  it  passes  over 
large  rock  masses,  or  other  points,  where  the 
indications  of  it  are  slight,  is  made  distinguish- 
able by  the  nature  man  having  placed  small 
rocks  one  upon  another  in  spots  along  the 
indistinct    places. 

This  nature  man  is  an  interesting  character. 
He  is  still  a  young  man.  His  long  hair  and 
full  beard,  together  with  pleasant  facial  fea- 
tures, makes  his  photographs  look  somewhat 
like  the  pictures  of  the  Saviour,  a  fact  of 
which  he  is  very  proud.  After  meeting  him 
a  number  of  times  I  reached  the  conclusion 
that  he  really  enjoys  a  certain  amount  of  the 
solitude  of  mountains  and  desert  but  desires 
the  presence  of  visitors  and  sight-seers  for 
what  coin  his  music  and  wares  might  induce 
them  to  part  with.  The  amount  of  money 
thus  secured  cannot  be  very  large,  but  as  his 
wants  are  few  and  simple  it  is  probably  suf- 
ficient for  all  his  needs.  He  endeavored  to 
establish  rules  to  govern  the  conduct  of  his 
visitors.  These  are  set  forth  on  a  neat  and 
well-written  card,  prominently  placed  at  the 
end  of  the  auto  road,  where  all  who  enter 
the  canyon  and  the  domain  of  the  hermit  can- 
not help  seeing  them.  A  reading  of  the  rules 
will  show  that  the  author  is  not  only  a  man 
of  some  education  and  culture,  but  also  not 
unreasonable.     The  following  is  a  copy: 


AN    APPEAL,    TO     REASON. 

Small  rocks,  piled  one  upon  the 
other  indicate  the  trail.  If  U 
don't  need  them  someone  else 
may,  therefore  leave  them  as  U 
find    them. 

In  the  beginning  all  things,  Rocks, 
Plants,  Animals,  Man,  were 
called  into  existence  by  the  First 
Great  Cause,  GOD,  and  therefore 
all  belongs  to  Him,  and  -since  U 
are  unable  to  create  U  have  no 
right  to  destroy,  not  even  a 
snake. 

Therefore  when  U  enter  this  Can- 
yon leave  Ur  fear  and  hatred  and 
weapons  of  murder  behind.  Say 
"Peace  and  Good  Will  to  All." 
Come!  Look!  Admire!  Enjoy! 
but  don't  let  Ur  joy  mean  suf- 
fering to  something  else.  God 
loves  All.  Live  and  let  live!  and 
God    will    bless    U. 

HE   WHO    LOVES   ALL  THINGS. 


He  did  not  seem  anxious  to  hide  the  fact 
that  a  certain  amount  of  his  "nature  life"  is 
commercialism,  pure  and  simple.  He  justi- 
fies it  as  being  easier  than  hard  work  in  pro- 
curing the  necessities  of  life.  He  seems  to 
be  sincere  in  his  declaration  of  love  for  the 
life  he  is  living.  He  says  he  is  studying 
philosophy  and  religion  and  expects  that  when 
he  masters  the  subject  he  will  be  able  to 
fathom  the  mysteries  of  life  "without  the  aid 
of  scientific  instruments." 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


Arriving  at  the  cabin  upon  the  occasion  of 
our  first  visit  we  found  the  nature  man  sit- 
ting outside  playing  on  a  guitar-like  instru- 
ment which  under  his  handling  gave  forth 
most  pleasing  and  delightful  music,  finished 
and  artistic.  Although  aware  of  our  presence 
he  made  no  sign  of  recognition  of  the  fact, 
but  went  on  playing  as  if  his  soul  and  the 
instrument  were  in  some  form  of  communion 
not  to  be  interrupted.  Nor  did  we  care  to 
interfere.  We  were  willing  to  listen  as  long 
as  the  spell  was  upon  him  to  play.  Finally 
he  stopped  playing  and  with  a  smile  on  his 
face  bid  us  "Good  morning."  Our  apprecia- 
tion of  his  musical  efforts  pleased  him  and 
he  proceeded  to  give  us  another  number  or 
two.  The  instrument  he  said  he  had  made 
to  order,  but  its  peculiarities  were  not  original. 
It  was  constructed  after  a  form  in  common 
use  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  The  music  is 
produced  by  manipulating  the  strings  on  the 
finger  board  with  a  small  piece  of  tempered 
steel  held  in  the  left  hand,  while  the  strings 
are  vibrated  with  the  fingers  of  the  right 
hand  over  the  sounding  board  or  the  usual 
place   in   playing   a   guitar. 

One  of  the  pictures  he  has  for  sale  is  a 
photograph  of  himself  playing  on  this  instru- 
ment. However,  as  there  was  some  little 
chill  in  the  morning  air  at  the  time  of  our 
visit  he  wore  more  clothes  than  when  the 
picture  was  taken,  but  not  very  much — just 
a  shirt. 

He  told  us  that  he  built  the  cabin  himself, 
cutting  all  the  lumber  used,  out  of  the  trunks 
of  fallen  palms  he  found  in  the  canyon.  Be- 
side being  an  excellent  musician,  he  was  a 
good  mechanic.  All  the  work  of  the  cabin 
was  well  done,  and  as  the  wood  seems  to  be 
strong  and  durable,  barring  accidents,  it 
should  afford  a  shelter  for  years  to  come.  I 
asked  him  for  the  names  of  the  flowers  I 
held  in  my  hand.  He  looked  at  them  for  a 
moment  and  then  replied:  "They  are  all 
flowers  to  me;   I   do  not  need  to  label  them." 

It  was  plain  from  his  accent  of  speech  that 
he  was  a  German.  He  said  he  had  been  in 
the  United  States  ten  and  a  half  years,  and 
in  that  vicinity  for  a  year  and  a  half;  that 
when  he  first  came  on  the  desert  he  located 
and  built  a  cabin  in  Chino  Canyon,  but  as  so 
few  people  went  up  there  the  location  af- 
forded a  little  more  solitude  than  he  was 
looking  for.  The  present  site  of  his  cabin 
supplied  other  advantages — more  sunshine 
and  more  air,  so  he  had  moved  to  where  we 
found    him. 

From  the  cabin  the  canyon  extends  south- 
erly several  miles,  but  for  lack  of  time  we 
were  not  able  to  go,  in  our  explorations  of 
it,  beyond  a  couple  of  miles.  For  the  greater 
part  of  this  distance  the  going  was  easy,  but 
beyond  it  appeared  to  be  rough  and  difficult. 

It  was  on  this  trip  where  we  saw  our  first 
Phainopepla,  a  handsome  crested  male  bird, 
a  little  smaller  than  a  male  blackbird  and  like 
which,  wore  a  coat  of  irridescent  black  but 
w  ith  white  patches  on  its  wings.  This  bird 
is  peculiar  to  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
where  it  is  quite  common  in  some  sections. 
It  does  not  have  much  of  a  song  but  its  notes 


are  not  unmusical.  The  female  is  of  rather 
a  dull  black  and  leaves  it  all  for  her  mate 
to  make  a  show.  We  also  noted  a  pair  of 
Yellow  warblers,  a  Mocking  bird  and  a  King 
bird,  sometimes  called  Bee  Martin,  which 
has  a  more  severe  name  in  the  bird  books, 
Tyrannus  vociferans.  Strange  it  is  that  while 
this  bird  will  attack  and  drive  away  birds 
much  larger  than  itself,  even  crows,  it  will 
flee  from  the  attacks  of  humming  birds.  They 
are  rather  noisy  birds  and  anything  but 
musical.  We  also  saw  several  Audobon 
warblers  flitting  around  among  the  trees 
bordering  the  canyon  stream.  They  are 
pretty  birds  with  their  slaty,  black,  white  and 
yellow  colors,  but  always  in  such  a  hurry 
that  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  satisfactory  view 
of   one. 

The  palm  trees  grow  in  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon  and  we  found  them  scattered  along 
as  far  as  we  went,  and  were  told  they  con- 
tinued to  be  a  feature  of  the  canyon  for 
nearly  its  entire  length.  Nearly  all  the  trees 
we  saw  had  their  petticoats  burned  off  and 
the  trunks  were  blackened  by  the  fires.  How- 
ever, the  tops  looked  thrifty  and  therefore 
the  trees  had  suffered  no  injury. 

We  found  some  wild  hollyhock  with  a 
delicate  pink  shade  and  others  of  plain  white; 
there  was  no  difference  otherwise  from  the 
plant  with  the  scarlet  blossoms  found  else- 
where on  the  desert.  Another  attractive  flower 
noted  was  the  vervenia,  Phacolia  distans. 
The  plant  grows  from  one  to  two  feet  high. 
The  leaves  and  stems  are  hairy.  The  blos- 
som stems  carry  a  mass  of  small  violet 
colored  flowers.  We  saw  but  few  flowers 
common  to  the  northern  part  of  the  State, 
not  more  than  four  or  five  varieties,  of  which 
the  white  forget-me-not,  the  larkspur,  the 
evening  primrose  are  all  that  I  can  recall, 
unless  I  should  include  one  little,  sickly,  half- 
developed  "blue  dick"  or  "cluster  lily,"  or 
Brodiaca  capitata. 

Palm  Canyon  was  made  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions of  a  large  moving  picture  company  from 
Los  Angeles  during  our  stay  at  the  springs. 
The  advent  of  this  company,  with  its  actors, 
photographers,  superintendents,  assistant 
superintendents,  mechanics  and  laborers  to 
the  number  of  a  hundred  or  more  people  ac- 
companied by  horses  and  camels  and  an  im- 
mense amount  of  paraphernalia,  was  some- 
thing like  a  circus  coming  to  a  country  town. 
The  commotion  caused  in  our.  little  burg  could 
not  have  been  greater  if  it  had  been  a  circus. 
The  purpose  of  the  company  was  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  natural  scenery  with  the  tropi- 
cal character  given  to  it  by  the  groves  of  palm 
trees  as  a  setting  for  an  act  or  two  in  a  play 
being  prepared  for  exhibition  in  movie 
theaters.  A  well-known  actress  and  some 
actors  not  so  well  known,  together  with  the 
nature  man,  appeared  in  the  scenes.  Owing 
to  imperfect  arrangements  for  transportation 
quite  a  number  of  the  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren taking  part  in  the  production  were  left 
at  the  canyon  to  get  back  to  the  springs  the 
best  way  they  could.  Some  of  them  were  still 
in  their  grotesque  costumes  scattered  along 
the   desert   on   foot,    making   their  way   home- 


10 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


11 


ward  when  we  saw  them  near  nightfall.  It 
was  quite  late  in  the  night  before  the  last  of 
the  stragglers  were  found  and  brought  into 
town. 

It  is  in  this  canyon  that  the  exceedingly 
rare  beetle,  Dinapate  Wrighti,  is  found.  It 
is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Coleoptera  oc- 
curing  in  the  United  States.  The  mature  in- 
sect measures  from  an  inch  and  a  half  to 
two  and  a  quarter  inches  in  length.  It  be- 
longs to  the  Bostrichidae  family.  It  has  been 
found  so  seldom  that  very  few  collectors 
have  taken  it  and  but  very  little  is  known  of 
its  life  history.  My  son  succeeded  in  collect- 
ing several  specimens  and  also  found  that  the 
female  beetle  deposits  her  eggs  in  the  wood 
of  the  native  palm  tree,  where  the  larva o 
hatch  and  live  until  they  develop  into  mature 
beetles.  The  holes  in  the  palm  wood  from 
which  the  beetles  emerge  are  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  look  as 
if  bored  with  an  auger.  Ed.  brought  home 
a  piece  of  the  wood  which  he  thought  con- 
tained some  larvae  and  placed  it  in  the  warm 
attic  of  our  house  in  Piedmont,  and  in  the 
fall  of  that  year  had  the  satisfaction  of  ob- 
taining several  mature  beetles  that  emerged 
from  the  log.  Hubbard  styled  this  beetle  the 
"Dodo"  of  Coleoptera,  referring  to  its  large 
and  ungainly  form  and  the  fact  that  the 
specie    is   bordering   on   extinction. 

While  out  on  a  short  trip  of  observation 
one  evening  we  met  Dr.  J.  C.  Bradley  of  the 
faculty  of  Cornell  University,  on  his  way  to 
set  a  night  trap  in  a  favorable  place  for  the 
collection  of  insects.  The  doctor  being  one 
of  the  most  prominent  entomologists  of  the 
Eastern  states,  besides  a  most  genial  com- 
panion, we  were  delighted  to  meet  him.  He 
arrived  at  the  springs  the  day  before  for  the 
purpose  of  spending  two  or  three  days  here 
collecting.  The  result  of  our  meeting  was  an 
arrangement  for  a  joint  trip  on  the  following 
day  to  the  next  canyons  north  of  Palm 
Canyon. 

As  planned,  after  breakfast,  m  company 
with  Dr.  Bradley,  we  started  out  on  an  all- 
day  trip  to  Murray  and  Andreas  Canyons.  We 
engaged  an  automobile  to  take  us  out  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  four  miles  on  the  main  road 
to  where  the  trail  to  the  last-named  canyon 
began.  Arriving  at  this  point  we  dismissed 
the  machine  and  proceeded  on  our  tramp. 
We  entered  the  canyon  and  went  up  between 
its  rocky  walls  for  a  distance  of  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile.  Our  main  purpose,  of 
course,  was  the  collection  of  insects  and  plants 
of  interest.  The  Doctor  paid  particular  atten- 
tion to  the  wild  bees  and  caught  specimens  of 
a  number  of  species.  Ed  made  quite  a  collec- 
tion of  beetles,  some  of  which  were  rare  and 
others  that  were  new  to  him.  We  came  across 
a  number  of  those  attractive  birds,  the 
Phainopeplas.  They  were  not  very  shy,  which 
gave  us  opportunity  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  them. 

I  met  with  a  plant,  the  first  and  only  one  I 
had  seen  on  the  desert,  the  yellow  bladder- 
pod,  Isomeris  Arborea,  that  belongs  to  the 
Capparidaceae  family.  Though  quite  common 
in  some  localities,  the  only  other  place  where 


I  had  seen  the  plant  was  on  Catalina  Island. 
It  bears  clusters  of  rather  pretty  yellow  but 
ill-smelling  flowers,  but  is  more  interesting 
by  reason  of  the  peculiar  way  it  forms  its 
bladder-shaped  seed  pod  on  the  top  of  its 
style  instead  of  at  its  base,  as  is  usual  with 
other  flowers.  Wild  apricot  bushes  were  quite 
numerous,  but  very  few  wild  flowers  were  in 
evidence.  Ed  found  a  couple  of  seedling 
palm  trees  which  he  dug  up  without  injury  to 
the  little  rootlets,  with  the  intention  of  trans- 
planting them  in  the  soil  of  Alameda  county. 

After  our  return  to  the  mouth  of  the  can- 
yon, where  there  is  a  grove  of  the  native  palm 
trees,  by  which  runs  a  large  stream  of  beau- 
tiful clear,  cold  water,  we  had  our  lunch.  We 
passed  a  half-hour  or  more  in  eating  and  con- 
versation and  then  started  for  Murray  Canyon, 
the  entrance  of  which  was  about  a  mile  away 
to  the  south.  Here  we  found  another  good- 
sized  stream  of  water,  with  more  palms  grow- 
ing along  the  banks.  The  canyon  is  somewhat 
smaller  than  Andreas  and  the  walls  of  the 
entrance  are  not  so  high  and  rugged. 

By  3  p.  m.  we  were  ready  for  the  walk 
home,  five  miles  away.  We  had  experienced 
a  most  enjoyable  day  and  were  fuller  of 
knowledge  of  the  strange  things  the  desert 
section  possessed.  We  met  some  picnic  and 
romping  parties  in  Andreas  Canyon,  the 
members  of  which  seemed  to  Se  enjoying  the 
novelty  cf  the  place  as  well  as  the  beauties 
nnd  grandeur  of  the  canyon. 

While  working  slowly  along  the  upper  part, 
a  lady  passing  me  said:  "Are  you  hunting 
bugs,  too?  I  just  passed  a  man  below  here 
who  said  he  was  trying  to  catch  beetles.  How 
interesting."  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "and  if  you  go 
a  little  farther  you  will  see  another  man  en- 
gaged in  a  similar  occupation,  hunting  for 
wild   bees." 

"How  interesting!"  she  declaimed,  and 
passed  on. 

On  the  way  home,  while  we  had  stopped  to 
examine  an  ant  hill  or  nest,  we  were  witnesses 
to  a  combat  between  a  small  spider  (the  body 
of  which  was  not  larger  than  a  duck  shot) 
and  a  rqember  of  this  particular  ant  colony. 
As  the  fight  was  in  progress  when  we  discov- 
ered it,  of  course  we  had  no  way  of  deter- 
mining how  long  it  had  been  going  on  or  how 
it  began.  The  ant,  which  was  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  long,  was  persistent  and 
aggressive,  while  the  spider  seemed  more  art- 
ful and  active.  Finally  the  latter  jumped  at 
the  ant  and  then  back  like  a  flash,  in  which 
act  it  apparently  dealt  a  knockout  blow  or 
bite,  for  the  "model  of  frugality  and  industry" 
was  seen  to  be  stunned.  Its  antennae  quivered 
and  body  swayed  on  its  legs  that  were  appar- 
ently giving  away  from  the  effects  of  the 
spider's  poisoned  blow.  In  less  than  ten  sec- 
onds the  ant  was  "down  and  out."  In  that 
swift  and  fatal  movement  the  spider  not  only 
inflicted  the  sting,  or  more  properly  the  bite, 
that  decided  the  battle,  but  wrapped  a  thread 
of  its  web  around  the  ant,  entangling  it  so 
that  when  we  lifted  the  dead  ant  with  a  pair 
of  pinchers  the  spider  was  raised  from  the 
ground  as  well. 


12 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


Dr.  Bradley  called  our  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  nest  was  that  of  the  Honey  ant, 
Myrmecocystus  Melliger.  A  peculiar  feature 
of  this  specie  is  that  it  makes  provision  for 
food  to  carry  it  through  the  season  when  its 
peculiar  food  is  unobtainable.  It  gathers  a 
honey-like  substance  presumably  from  flowers 
which  is  fed  to  and  then  stored  in  the  ab- 
domen of  one  form  of  the  workers  designed 
by  nature  for  the  purpose.  When  filled  the 
abdomen  is  inflated  to  the  size  and  shape  of  a 
cherry  stone.  After  being  gorged  with  the 
nectar  the  live  storage  vats  cling  to  the  roof 
of  their  home  underground  until  later  in  the 
year  when  food  is  scarce  and  it  becomes 
necessary  for  the  other  members  of  the  colony 
to  resort  to  the  storage  ant  for  subsistence, 
which  they  disgorge  to  their  fellows  through 
their   mouths. 

The  Doctor  also  pointed  out  eight  or  ten 
different  species  of  ants  along  the  road,  one 
of  which  was  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the 
world;  and  besides,  showed  us  another,  a 
Myrmicidae,  extremely  rare,  which  we  found 
in  Andreas  Canyon. 

We  came  across  four  or  five  birds,  mem- 
bers of  the  thrush  family.  They  looked  like 
our  russet-backs,  but  the  color  seemed  darker 
and  the  spots  on  the  breast  more  pronounced. 
They  might  have  aided  us  in  identification 
by  rendering  a  note  or  two,  but  they  pre- 
ferred to  remain  silent,  so  we  were  compelled 
to  continue  on  our  journey  without  deter- 
mining their  exact  place  in  avifauna  of  Cali- 
fornia. My  pedometer  recorded  nine  miles 
walking  for  the  trip. 

On  a  previous  occasion  Ed  and  I  visited  the 
entrance  to  Andreas  Canyon  while  on  our  way 
back  from  Palm  Canyon.  We  did  not  have 
time  to  explore  the  canyon  for  any  distance 
but  satisfied  ourselves  with  looking  around 
the  little  meadow  of  an  acre  or  so  in  size, 
which  is  dotted  with  a  clump  of  palms  with 
their  petticoats  unburned;  also  with  alders 
and  cottonwood  trees.  In  one  place  the  palms 
and  other  trees  were  so  thick  that  the  sun's 
rays  could  not  penetrate  the  branches  and 
leaves  and  interfere  with  the  perpetual  shade 
made  by  the  thick  growth.  At  one  time  the 
canyon  was  a  popular  camping  place  for  peo- 
ple who  wished  to  visit  the  desert,  but  re- 
cently government  agents  have  ordered 
campers  away.  From  the  canyon  to  the  inn 
the  distance  was  a  little  over  four  miles.  It 
was  while  walking  this  stretch  that  we  came 
across  the  first  wild  apricot  trees.  The  fruit 
and  leaves  are  much  like  those  of  the  culti- 
vated tree,  but  both  are  considerably  smaller. 
We  were  informed  that  the  government  is 
making  some  tests  at  the  experimental  station 
at  Indio  with  the  wild  tree  to  see  if  it  or  its 
roots  cannot  be  utilized  to  some  advantage 
to  our  fruit  growers. 

After  getting  off  the  fan  of  the  canyon,  we 
found  a  road  leading  into  Palm  Springs.  The 
walking  of  course  was  easier,  but  we  were 
also  glad  to  get  away  from  having  to  dodge 
the  choya  cactus,  which  was  growing  in 
greater  quantity  over  the  section  we  had 
traveled  than  we  had  experienced  elsewhere. 
It  grows  from  three  to  six  feet  tall,  the  main 


stalks  being  about  three  inches  in  diameter; 
these  stalks  throw  out  contorted  branches 
and  sub-branches  without  order  or  system. 
The  thing  is  covered  with  barbed-spines  from 
top  to  bottom  which  it  parts  with  on  the 
slightest  provocation.  Some  people  think  that 
the  plant  shoots  its  spines  at  passersby,  which 
absurdity  I  was  almost  willing  to  endorse  for 
a  time.  When  once  in  your  flesh  it  takes 
strength  and  a  pair  of  tweezers  to  extract  the 
thorn. 

Along  the  road  we  found  some  datura  plants 
in  bloom,  a  plant  that  is  very  common  in  the 
San  Joaquin  valley.  It  has  a  beautiful  large 
flower,  but  is  so  plentiful  that  it  is  classed 
with  the  weeds  by  some  people.  We  found 
more  than  ordinary  interest  in  these  flowers, 
discovering  that  they  were  harboring  some 
interesting  beetles. 

On  the  26th  day  of  March  the  sky  was 
slightly  overcast  and  the  day  much  cooler, 
but  very  agreeable  for  those  at  the  Springs. 
We  could  see,  though,  that  out  on  the  desert, 
eight  or  ten  miles  away,  the  wind  was  blow- 
ing hard,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  dust 
and  sand,  almost  obscuring  the  view  of  the 
San  Bernardino  range  of  mountains  that  bor- 
der the   easterly   side   of  the   desert. 

While  watching  the  cloud  of  dust  being 
driven  from  the  northwestern  end  of  the 
desert  with  a  speed  that  implied  an  unusual 
wind  mileage,  I  noted  that  the  disturbance 
did  not  seem  to  extend  beyond  the  great  sand 
dunes  in  the  middle  of  the . desert.  For  some 
distance  south  of  these  great  mountains  of 
sand  the  air  was  practically  clear.  Here  was 
a  possible  clew  accounting  for  the  presence 
of  the  dunes,  which  had  heretofore  been 
something  of  a  puzzle  to  my  mind  in  trying 
to  find  a  reason  for  their  occurrence  at  that 
particular  spot.  It  appeared  to  me  that  it  was 
probable  that  the  heated  air  of  the  desert 
rising  admitted  a  rush  of  cold  air  through  the 
gap  in  the  mountains  at  the  northwestern  end 
of  the  desert  to  take  its  place.  The  hotter  the 
weather  the  more  rapid  the  rarification  and 
less  resistance  to  the  cold  air  pressing  in  from 
the  ocean  side.  The  cold  air  would  travel  over 
the*  desert  until  it  became  heated  and  thus 
made  to  lose  its  onward  force  and  become  like 
the  rest  of  the  desert  air.  Then  its  horizontal 
movement  changed  to  an  upward  direction. 
Its  capacity  to  carry  sand  and  heavy  dust 
gradually  ended  with  the  change  of  its  tem- 
perature and  upward  movement.  These  dunes 
are  located  about  forty  miles  from  the  gap  or 
northwestern  end  of  the  desert.  Apparently 
then  the  ocean,  or  cold,  winds  are  modified 
by  degrees  to  the  same  temperature  and  con- 
dition of  the  general  atmosphere  of  the 
desert  while  passing  over  this  distance,  there- 
fore losing  their  dirt-carrying  capacity  at  the 
end  of  the  forty  miles.  This  change  taking 
place  practically  at  the  same  spot  for  ages, 
there  is  now  piled  up  a  great  mass  of  sand 
2000  or  more  feet  high  and  several  miles 
long — a  huge  monument  to  one  of  the  forces 
of    nature — the    wind. 

The  change  in  temperature  of  the  entering 
cold  winds  is  effected  slowly  as  it  passes  over 
the  desert.    This  fact  is  indicated  by  the  form 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


13 


of  the  dust  cloud.  When  first  seen  it  is  shal- 
low, rising  but  a  few  feet  above  the  desert 
plane,  but  as  it  progresses  into  the  desert  it 
rises  on  an  incline  until  it  reaches  a  height 
of  thousands  of  feet,  where  further  projection 
of  it  ends,  and  beyond  which  the  atmosphere 
is  free  of  dust.  This  theory  was  reached  while 
trying  to  find  an  explanation  for  the  fact  that 
we  at  Palm  Springs  and  thereabouts  were  en- 
joying the  pleasures  of  an  exceedingly  quiet, 
clear  and  clean  atmosphere  while  a  sand- 
storm prevailed  a  few  miles  away  on  the 
desert. 

In  one  of  my  morning  walks  I  met  with 
four  people  in  different  places  whose  occupa- 
tions gave  strong  evidence  of  the  popularity  of 
this  section  with  lovers  of  nature.  One  was 
a  young  lady  from  the  Eastern  states,  who 
was  making  oil  sketches  of  bits  of  the  desert 
with  rugged  mountain  back  grounds;  another 
was  Carl  Eytel,  an  artist,  who  has  passed 
much  of  his  life  here  and  in  similar  sections 
of  Southern  California,  who  was  engaged  in 
reproducing  on  canvas  some  local  landscape 
features  in  which  the  native  palm  was  con- 
spicuous; another  was  a  lady  gathering  wild 
flowers  to  be  pressed  and  preserved  to  show 
as  novelties  of  the  desert.  The  last  was  a 
Californian  who  was  sketching  a  picturesque 
spot  in  water  colors.  No  doubt  but  there 
were  others  unseen  by  me  engaged  in  similar 
occupations  or  in  making  a  study  of  the 
insects,  birds  or  flowers. 

As  might  be  expected,  Palm  Springs  was 
not  without  real  estate  agents.  As  you  enter 
the  town  signs  announcing  date  and  other 
fruit  lands  for  sale  are  conspicuous.  Up  to 
the  time  of  our  visit  no  date  trees,  so  far  as  I 
could  learn,  had  been  planted  in  that  imme- 
diate locality.  From  experiments  made  in 
growing  dates  in  other  desert  sections  there 
was  reason  to  believe  that  the  date  palm  will 
grow  thriftily  and  bear  abundant  fruit  in  that 
section.  We  met  a  gentleman  living  in  Palm 
Springs  who  was  then  and  had  been  for  some 
months  past  giving  his  time  and  attention  to 
a  date  orchard  located  at  Indio,  which  is 
about  fifteen  miles  from  Palm  Springs.  He 
had  become  interested  in  the  cultivation  of 
this  fruit  some  few  years  before  and  had  had 
an  orchard  down  in  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  the  state,  but  he  found  the  climate 
there  unsuitable  to  the  maturing  of  the  fruit. 
The  cool,  damp  breezes  that  came  off  the 
Gulf  of  California  mildewed  the  dates  at  the 
ripening  season.  He  concluded  that  the 
climatic  conditions  at  Indio  were  superior; 
in  fact,  more  like  that  of  the  home  of  the  fruit; 
therefore  he  determined  to  remove  the 
orchard  containing  about  400  trees  to  Indio. 
This  was  two  years  and  one-half  ago.  In 
carrying  out  this  very  remarkable  under- 
taking the  trees  were  carefully  dug  up  and 
crated,  hauled  five  miles  to  a  railroad  station, 
and  from  thence  were  shipped  by  rail  to 
Indio.  Some  of  the  larger  trees  weighed  two 
tons  each.  Of  course  he  had  a  very  large 
freight  bill  to  pay,  to  say  nothing  of  the  cost 
of  digging  up  and  replanting.  Remarkable 
to  record,  he  lost  very  few  trees  in  the  trans- 
planting      and      none      of      those      that      died 


were  large  trees.  The  loss  was  confined  en- 
tirely to  the  small  trees.  He  said  the  trees 
were  then  in  bloom  and  gave  every  evidence 
of  being  located  in  a  congenial  situation  with 
profitable  results. 

One  forenoon  while  walking  along  an  irri- 
gation ditch  we  discovered  a  pair  of  giant 
water  bugs  known  as  Belostoma  of  the  specie 
Serphus  dilatatus.  The  entire  back  of  the  male 
was  covered  with  the  eggs  of  his  mate,  which 
she  had  placed  and  cemented  there,  a  habit 
which  the  females  of  this  specie  are  addicted 
to.  He  was  thus  made  the  caretaker  of  about 
ninety  eggs,  which  were  rather  more  elon- 
gated than  globular  and  about  two  millimeters 
in  diameter.  Judging  from  its  actions  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  female,  I  concluded 
that  it  was  not  taking  life,  under  the  condi- 
tions imposed,  with  any  great  degree  of  ease 
and  comfort. 

Upon  my  return  to  Piedmont  three  weeks 
later  I  took  Mr.  Serphus  out  of  the  small  box 
where  I  had  been  keeping  him  between  moist 
wads  of  paper.  He  appeared  none  the  worse 
for  his  close  imprisonment,  but  I  noticed  that 
the  eggs  had  elongated  or  grown  lengthwise 
by  half  a  millimeter.  I  put  him  in  a  glass 
jar  partially  filled  with  water.  It  was  un- 
necessary to  put  a  cover  over  the  top  of  the 
jar,  as  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  use  his 
wings  plastered  down  as  they  appeared  with 
eggs. 

I  also  put  a  large  flat  cork  in  the  jar  for  a 
float  that  the  bug  might  have  a  place  on  which 
to  get  out  of  the  water  if  so  disposed.  This 
he  used  a  great  part  of  the  time  by  which  to 
lift  the  tip  of  his  abdomen  above  the  water. 
I  presume  he  did  this  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining air;  for,  like  some  other  forms  of 
insect  life,  he  probably  secured  his  needed 
supply  through  the  stomata  or  breathing 
places  there. 

Three  days  later  I  noted  that  some  of  the 
eggs  had  elongated  to  about  four  millimeters 
or  to  about  double  the  length  of  when  I  first 
saw  them.  That  day  eight  or  ten  eggs  hatched 
and  as  many  little  baby  Serphus  were  soon 
swimming  around  in  the  jar.  They  were  like 
the  parent  in  shape  and  in  a  few  hours  they 
acquired  a  t  length  of  about  eight  with  a 
breadth  of  about  four  millimeters.  Burdened 
as  he  was,  like  Sinbad  the  Sailor,  it  must  have 
been  a  happy  day  for  the  father.  The  young 
bugs  when  they  first  emerge  are  practically 
colorless  but  become  yellowish  a  little  later, 
then  soon  take  on  a  rather  dark  brown  color 
and  become  quite  lively.  Their  eyes,  two  little 
black  dots,  as  well  as  the  beak,  were  quite 
conspicuous. 

I  took  the  parent  bug  out  of  the  jar  to 
examine  the  unhatched  eggs  and  found  about 
a  dozen  in  advanced  stages  of  hatching.  In 
the  earliest  stage  the  top  of  the  egg  breaks 
open  and  a  transparent  jelly-like  mass  pro- 
trudes. This  is  the  head  part  and  bears  three 
black  specks  which  become  the  eyes  and  beak 
of  the  mature  bug.  The  emergence  from  the 
egg  cases  is  a  very  slow  process.  I  could  see 
but  little  progress  in  the  course  of  an  hour's 
observation.  The  body  seemed  almost  shape- 
less and  lifeless  until  the  emergence  was  com- 


14 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


THE  DESERT,  NEAR  PALM  SPRINGS. 


THE  PALM  CANYON  NATURE  MAN. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


15 


plete  and  the  insect  freed  from  the  case.  Soon 
after  it  would  swim  off  actively  and  dart 
around  as  if  in  enjoyment  of  the  newly-found 
life. 

Within  two  or  three  hours  after  I  discov- 
ered the  hatching  had  begun  I  observed  three 
of  the  babies  were  lying  dead  on  the  bottom 
of  the  jar.  , 

In  the  next  twenty-four  hours  about  a 
dozen  more  young  Serphus  made  their  appear- 
ance in  the  jar,  but  soon  after  there  were 
eleven  dead  on  the  bottom  of  the  jar.  I  put 
an  earth  worm  in  the  jar  and  very  soon  sev- 
eral  of   the   oldest   babies  were   feeding  on   it. 

By  the  end  of  the  third  day  the  hatchings 
had  increased  so  much  I  could  not  count 
them,  but  the  fatalities  were  increasing  as 
well.  Watching  the  actions  of  the  young  bugs 
closely  for  an  hour  or  so  disclosed  the  cause 
of  the  death  of  many,  if  not  all,  of  the  lifeless 
forms  in  the  jar.  I  saw  one  of  the  largest 
or  first  hatched  catch  one  of  the  younger  ones 
and  sink  its  beak  into  the  body  of  the  un- 
fortunate and  proceed  to  feed  upon  it.  Later 
I  saw  one  of  the  older  ones  seize  upon  a  baby 
just  emerging  from  the  egg  case  and  swim  off 
with  it.  It  was  also  on  this  day  that  the  tissue 
holding  the  empty  egg  cases  as  well  as  the 
cases  with  the  unborn  sloughed  off  the  back 
of  the  parent.  After  this  event  no  more  eggs 
hatched. 

I  endeavored  to  supply  the  young  bugs  with 
worms  and  insects,  but  they  preferred  to  feed 
upon  each  other,  so  the  number  daily  grew 
less  and  by  the  end  of  the  week  the  last  and 
strongest  of  the  young  family  were  dead. 
Though  I  was  not  a  witness,  I  have  reason 
to  believe  these  became  the  victims  of  the 
appetite  of  the  parent. 

Tahquitz  Canyon,  next  north  of  Andreas  Can- 
yon, being  only  a  couple  of  miles  from  the 
Springs,  was  visited  by  us  on  several  occasions. 
No  palm  trees  are  growing  there,  but  it  has 
many  other  kind  of  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers, 
as  well  as  the  beautiful  waterfall.  I  do  not 
know  which  trip  interested  me  most,  but  our 
first  visit  was  on  a  beautiful  morning.  The 
delightful  atmosphere,  with  the  clear  sky  over- 
head, the  many  singing  birds,  the  genial  air 
and  carpet  of  showy  flowers  under  our  feet 
wherever  we  stepped,  aroused  one's  enthusi- 
asm and  brought  forth  mutual  expressions  of 
delight  and  pleasure.  One  flower  that  grows 
in  beds  not  unlike  that  of  the  cultivated  gar- 
den was  a  wild  verbena.  In  fact,  the  flower 
itself  is  very  much  like  the  garden  verbena. 
It  has  a  beautiful  shade  of  lilac  and  one  never 
tires  looking  at  a  bed  of  them.  A  flowering 
shrub  that  attracted  our  attention  was  the 
Parosela  Californica.  I  could  find  no  common 
name  for  it.  It  was  conspicuous  on  account 
of  the  contrast  of  its  little  dark  blue  pea- 
shaped  blossoms  with  the  pale  gray  foliage. 
We  also  noted  three  specie  of  the  Onagracae, 
or  Evening  Primrose  family.  Another  oddity 
to  us  was  a  pale   pink   Evening  Primrose. 

Along  the  creek  that  flows  from  the  canyon 
alders  and  cottonwoods  grow  quite  profusely, 
but,  as  stated,  no  palms  have  found  a  place 
there.  From  the  mouth  of  the  canyon  the 
trail  to  the  falls  is  cut  into  the  mountain  side. 


It  was  a  little  rough  but  on  an  easy  grade.  A 
half-mile  walk  from  the  portal  brought  us  to 
the  falls.  At  this  time  of  the  years  the  falls 
present  a  pretty  picture,  consisting  of  a  sheet 
of  water  eight  or  ten  feet  wide  with  a  sheer 
drop  of  about  65  feet.  The  large  pool  formed 
at  the  base  of  the  falls  looked  like  an  ideal 
spot  for  trout,  but  we  were  told  there  were 
no  fish  in  the  stream. 

On  the  return  home  we  came  across  some 
pretty  bluish  purple  flowers  on  a  plant  about 
a  foot  in  height.  The  bell-shaped  corolla  was 
over  an  inch  in  length  with  exserted  stamens 
and  pistil.  We  identified  the  flower  as  the 
wild  Canterbury  bells. 

Around  the  grounds  of  the  Inn  and  other 
parts  of  the  town  visitors  will  find  not  a  few 
things  to  interest  them  in  the  gardens  in  the 
way  of  strange  trees  and  flowers  and  wild 
birds.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  big  hot  spring 
and  bath-house,  around  which  are  numerous 
large  trees,  many  kinds  of  birds  are  to  be 
seen.  Even  the  English  sparrow  had  found  a 
congenial  home  there.  In  addition  we  also 
noted  a  number  of  Blackbirds,  Robins, 
Swallows,  Black  Phoebys,  Orioles  and  some 
California  Towhees.  These  latter  birds  dif- 
fered from  our  northern  Towhees  in  that  the 
lores  and  ear  coverts  were  quite  dark.  Our 
Towhees  are  not  so  marked. 

About  a  half-mile  from  town  one  morning 
we  came  across  a  little  "seven  by  nine"  cabin 
on  the  desert  close  to  the  mountain  base, 
which  was  housing  Carl  Eytel,  the  artist 
spoken  of  in  another  place.  In  this  cozy 
and  comfortable  little  domicile  he  has  pro- 
duced much  work  in  art.  He  has  furnished 
illustrations  for  Smeaton  Chase's  books,  as 
well  as  executed  many  paintings  and  sketches. 
He  is  credited  with  being  an  excellent  author- 
ity on  all  subjects  relating  to  the  desert.  He 
accommodated  me  with  the  botanical  name  of 
a  plant  which  I  found  growing  near  his  place. 
It  was  the  plant  commonly  known  as  the 
Devil's  Claws,  being  given  this  name  because 
of  the  peculiar  character  of  the  seed  pod  when 
matured  and  dried.  This  pod  has  two  slender, 
curled  horns  which  are  six  to  eight  inches 
long  and  as  tough  as  rawhide.  The  points 
being  sharp,  they  are  not  a  pleasant  thing  to 
get  tangled  around  your  ankles,  which  seems 
to  be  their  only  purpose;  at  least  that  is  what 
one  is  inclined  to  think  when  he  meets  with 
such  misfortune.  The  plant  grows  to  a  height 
of  18  inches  or  more,  with  strong  but  rather 
recumbent  branches.  Its  leaves  are  broad 
ovate  in  form  and  the  flowers  quite  large  and 
attractive.  Martynia  is  the  botanical  name  by 
which   the   plant   is  known. 

On  the  table  in  a  lounging  place  at  the  inn 
was  a  flower  pot  standing  in  a  large  brass 
urn  which  was  directly  under  a  gas  jet  that 
was  always  lighted  at  night.  We  had  not 
been  seated  very  long  near  the  table  one  even- 
ing when  I  noticed  Ed  peering  into  the  urn. 
He  had  heard  a  fluttering  noise  there  and 
was  inspecting  the  thing  to  discover  the  cause. 
Lifting  out  the  pot  of  flowers,  he  found  an 
immense  moth  had  been  imprisoned  in  the 
urn.  But  there  was  something  else  there  that 
pleased  him  more,  about  a  dozen  large  scara- 


16 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


baeidae  beetles  of  two  kinds,  Ligyrus  and 
Polyphylla.  These  were  two  species  that  he 
had  been  hoping  to  collect,  therefore  the  un- 
expected find  afforded  him  no  small  amount 
of  satisfaction.  During  the  remainder  of  the 
evening  Ed  kept  up  a  watch  for  other  beetles 
that  might  be  attracted  by  the  bright  lights 
burning  outside,  and  was  rewarded  by  the 
collection  of  several  specimens;  besides,  he 
caught  a  couple  of  monster  moths  which  when 
flying   looked   as   large   as   small   birds. 

In  making  notes  of  what  we  saw  on  one  of 
our  tramps  to  Tahquitz  we  recorded  sixteen 
different  kinds  of  birds,  to-wit:  Audobon 
Warbler,  Bullock  Oriole,  Wilson  Snipe,  Dove, 
Meadow  Lark,  Robin,  Western  House  Wren, 
Say  Phoeby,  Yellow  Warbler,  Junco,  Califor- 
nia Goldfinch,  House  Finch  or  Linnet,  White- 
crowned  Sparrow,  Humming  Bird,  Little 
Green  Heron  and  Western  Gnat-catcher. 
With  the  exception  perhaps  of  the  last,  all  of 
these  birds  are  common  in  our  part  of  the 
state  and  consequently  were  not  new  to  us. 
The  Gnat-catcher  is  to  be  found  north,  but  is 
not  so  much  in  evidence  there  as  the  others 
named.  It  is  quite  a  small  bird,  no  larger 
than  a  California  Goldfinch.  It  has  quite  a 
musical  song  which  the  male  bird  persistently 
keeps  up  throughout  the  day  during  the 
nesting  season. 

We  had  a  dozen  or  more  different  flowers, 
some  of  which  I  was  able  to  classify.  A  con- 
spicuous flower  was  one  called  by  the  natives 
Belleperona.  It  grows  on  a  small  shrub  and 
has  clusters  of  honeysuckle-shaped  scarlet 
blossoms.  It  answers  to  the  description  of 
the  Pentstemon  cordifolius,  by  Margaret  Arm- 
strong. Another  beautiful  flower  was  the 
scarlet  Mallow,  a  species  of  wild  hollyhock.  A 
plant  attracted  our  attention,  not  so  much 
on  account  of  its  minute  simple  flower  as  for 
the  peculiarity  of  its  flowering  stem  and 
branches,  which  were  swollen  between  the 
nodes  ■  or  joints,  with  the  larger  part  of  the 
swelling  toward  the  top.  At  first  we  thought 
the  enlargement  was  due  to  injury  or  the  pres- 
ence of  an  insect,  but  an  examination  soon 
disproved  that,  and,  moreover,  all  plants  of 
the  kind  were  in  the  same  condition.  It  was 
nothing  more  than  one  of  nature's  provisions 
for  the  welfare  of  the  plant.  It  is  known  as 
the  Eriogonum  inflatum,  or  bottle  plant.  The 
radical  leaves  which  form  a  rosette  around 
the  base  of  the  plant  are  very  pretty,  looking 
something  like  the  handsome  foliage  of  hot- 
house Begonias.  We  found  a  single  plant  of 
the  thistle  poppy,  Argemone  hispade.  It 
grows  between  two  and  three  feet  high  and 
bears  a  number  of  beautiful  white  flowers  not 
unlike  in  size  and  appearance  to  those  of  the 
Matilija  poppy.  The  stems  and  even  the 
leaves  are  covered  with  the  sharpest  kind  of 
thistle  points.  At  a  distance  the  plant  has  an 
attractive  appearance,  but  the  "stickers" 
defy  one  to  take  the  flowers  by  any  ordinary 
process.  In  truth,  I  think  the  majority  of  the 
perennials  as  well  as  many  of  the  annual 
plants  of  the  desert  are  armed  with  thorns 
and  "stickers,"  and  one  is  soon  impressed  with 
the  advisability  of  closely  examining  the  char- 
acter of  all  plants  there  before  entering  into 
too  familiar  relations  with  them. 


A  plant  that  is  also  a  feature  of  the  desert 
flora  at  this  time  of  the  year  is  the  Yerba 
Santa,  Eriodictyon  tomentosum.  It  is  differ- 
ent from  the  Yerba  Santa,  Eriodictyon  Cali- 
fornicum,  growing  in  the  northern  section  of 
the  state.  The  leaves,  while  of  the  same  shape 
and  texture,  are  covered  with  a  gray,  velvet- 
like pubescence.  This  dressing  gives  the  plant 
a  handsome  appearance,  and  it  is  especially 
attractive  when  in  bloom.  The  flowers,  of  lilac 
color  shading  to  purple  and  white,  are  a  little 
over  a  half-inch  long.  The  clusters  of  these 
flowers,  with  the  gray,  velvet  buds  and  leaves 
with  the  peculiar  gray  foliage,  is  an  exhibi- 
tion of  one  of  nature's  most  pleasing  color 
schemes. 

Another  remarkable  plant  belonging  to  the 
pea  family,  just  beginning  to  show  color  in 
its  flower  buds,  was  called  to  our  attention. 
This  is  a  shrub  peculiar  to  the  desert  known 
as  Parosela  Emoryi.  Its  flower  is  dark  purple, 
the  foliage  grayish  green.  The  flowers  are 
quite  small,  pea  blossom  shape,  gathered  in 
a  head  not  unlike  the  clover.  A  strange  and 
interesting  feature  of  the  plant  is  that  by 
bruising  the  stems  or  flower  head  upon  the 
hands  or  other  objects  a  profuse  and  deep 
orange  color  is  produced.  The  discovery  of 
this  property  in  the  plant  led  some  people  to 
think  it  might  be  valuable  for  the  production 
of  a  dye,  and  some  experimental  work  to  de- 
velop it  was  attempted,  but  with  what  success 
I  could  not  learn. 

Referring  to  the  English  Snipe  mentioned 
among  the  birds  seen  on  the  trip  to  Tahquitz, 
I  might  add  that  they  were  flushed  while  pass- 
ing a  moist  bit  of  ground  made  so  by  leakage 
from  a  nearby  irrigation  ditch.  Ordinarily 
these  birds  are  very  shy  and  after  being 
flushed  alight  only  at  a  place  that  gives  them 
immediate  cover,  but  these  snipe  flew  off  for 
a  short  distance,  then  back,  coming  to  the 
open  ground  within  a  few  feet  of  where  I  was 
standing,  where  they  remained  long  enough 
for  satisfactory  observation.  Their  long  bills 
and  eyes  set  so  far  back  in  their  heads  that 
they  appear  out  of  place  give  the  birds  a  very 
odd  appearance. 

During  the  latter  part  of  our  stay,  when  the 
weather  became  more  summer-like,  some  male 
wasps  belonging  to  the  Elis  family  put  in  an 
appearance.  They  looked  very  much  like  the 
slim-bodied  •"warmtailed  insect"  so  common  in 
the  country  districts  of  the  north,  but  these 
wasps  had  no  stings,  consequently  could  be 
handled  with  impunity.  However,  if  I  should 
have  captured  a  female  of  the  species,  I  would 
have  been  made  aware  that  the  power  to  in- 
flict a  sting  was  not  altogether  absent  in  the 
species,  but  this  difference  is  true  with  all 
kinds  of  wasps.  It  is  only  the  females  that 
are  armed  with  the  stinging  weapon,  which  is 
absent  in  all  males  whether  bees  or  wasps. 
With  the  Elis  it  is  the  males  that  are  gadding 
about  while  the  females  remain  at  home. 
But  with  our  common  wasps,  the  Polistes  and 
Yellow  Jackets,  it  is  the  lady  wasps  that  make 
themselves  so  conspicuous,  and  the  gentle- 
men, where  there  are  any,  remain  at  home 
and  are  seldom  seen. 

As  to  the  common  wasp,  the  Polistes,  which 
is  represented   during  the  spring  and  summer 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


17 


almost  wholly  by  the  female  sex,  which  does 
all  the  work  of  house-building,  feeding  and 
caring  for  the  babies,  we  are  told  by  observers 
that  the  male  kind,  which  does  no  work,  Is 
not  brought  into  existence  until  the  last  of 
the  season  in  the  latest  broods,  and  then  only 
that  the  race  may  be  perpetuated. 

A  couple  of  young  female  wasps  of  the 
Polistes  tribe  visited  the  eaves  of  my  cottage, 
inspecting  all  the  corners  and  other  available 
places  for  a  location  for  a  nest.  At  that  time 
I  thought  they  represented  the  possible 
foundation  of  two  colonies,  but  I  was  in  error, 
as  will  be  seen  later.  The  following  morning 
I  found  one  wasp  employed  in  starting  a  nest. 
The  first  work  consisted  of  constructing  the 
"stem"  by  which  the  nest  of  cells  are  sus- 
pended. That  evening  I  saw  but  one  wasp 
there,  which  evidently  had  suspended  opera- 
tions for  the  day.  About  one-half  of  the  stem 
had  been  constructed.  On  the  second  day  I 
visited  the  scene  of  operations  quite  fre- 
quently and  never  found  more  than  one  wasp 
there  and  at  no  time  was  it  away  when  I 
called.  By  night  the  stem  had  been  length- 
ened about  the  required  distance,  when  by 
the  position  and  quietness  of  the  wasp  I  con- 
cluded she  had  quit  work  as  on  the  evening 
previous.  The  next  day  I  made  frequent  ob- 
servations and  found  that  before  night  the 
base  for  the  cells  had  been  started.  At  no 
time  did  I  find  the  wasp  absent,  and  I  began 
to  wonder  where  the  paper-like  material  came 
from  with  which  she  was  constructing  the 
domicile.  By  noon  of  the  next  day  the  base 
had  been  enlarged  and  the  beginning  of  three 
cells  were  clearly  outlined.  I  marveled  still 
more.  Apparently  the  wasp  had  never  left 
the  spot  since  she  began  the  structure  which 
now  contained  as  much  material  as  would 
make  an  object  several  times  larger  than  the 
wasp.  Where  did  the  building  material  come 
from?  .At  noontime  I  found  the  answer. 
While  watching  the  lady  busily  employed  on 
the  new  home,  another  wasp  suddenly  flew 
in  and  took  a  position  near  the  nest,  remain- 
ing perfectly  still.  The  wasp  at  work  con- 
tinued her  operations  for  a  few  seconds  and 
then  flew  away,  when  the  newcomer  immedi- 
ately stepped  upon  the  job  and  proceeded  with 
the  labor  of  increasing  the  cells.  By  night 
the  bases  of  five  cells  were  completed,  but 
only  one  wasp  remained  with  the  work  over 
night.  By  these  actions  it  was  inferred  that 
two  wasps  at  least  were  working  in  relays. 
The  absentee  was  gathering  material  for  the 
nest. 

From  observations  made  in  watching  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  same  species  the  year  previ- 
ous in  Mendocino  county,  I  found  that  egg- 
laying  was  begun  as  soon  as  the  base  of  the 
cells  reached  the  cup  shape;  therefore,  as  the 
cells  of  this  new  nest  were  beginning  to 
assume  that  form  I  began  to  watch  for  the 
appearance  of  eggs.  The  base  of  the  sixth  cell 
was  completed  and  a  start  made  on  the 
seventh  by  the  end  of  the  following  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  no  eggs  had  been  deposited. 
On  the  fourth  day  of  their  operations  the 
wasps  had  the  seventh  cell  base  finished.  The 
cells  were  arranged  so  that  one  was  in  the 
center  and   the   other  six   were  around   it. 


On  the  fifth  day  the  wasps  did  not  seem  to 
be  very  busy,  and  so  far  as  I  could  see  made 
no  addition  to  their  home,  but  that  night  both 
wasps  remained  on  the  nest.  The  first  thing 
the  next  morning  I  did  was  to  see  what  my 
vespa  friends  were  doing.  Both  wasps  seemed 
active,  but  I  could  not  determine  the  nature 
of  their  activities.  No  more  cells  had  been 
started,  neither  did  they  seem  to  be  raising 
the  height  of  the  six  mentioned  yesterday. 
Finally,  I  concluded  they  were  preparing  to 
lay  eggs  in  the  cell  bases.  The  shadows  were 
such  that  I  could  not  see  whether  eggs  had 
been  deposited  or  not.  After  breakfast  the 
light  was  more  favorable  and  I  discovered  an 
egg  to  be  seen  in  each  of  the  cells,  fastened 
or  glued  to  the  bottom  or  a  little  to  one  side. 
The  mother  wasps  seemed  to  be  quite  proud 
or  solicitous  over  the  event  and  were  nerv- 
ously walking  over  and  peering  into  the  cups 
holding  the  precious  morsels.  I  could  not  be 
positive  as  to  the  exact  time  of  the  laying  of 
the  eggs,  but  the  event  possibly  accounts  for 
the  peculiar  actions  of  the  wasps  in  suspend- 
ing building  operations  the  day  before. 
Neither  could  I  tell  whether  one  wasp  laid  all 
the  eggs  or  shared  the  responsibility  with  the 
other  wasp. 

Later  in  the  day  the  base  of  an  additional 
or  eighth  cell  was  started,  but  neither  of  the 
wasps  showed  the  industry  and  close  attention 
to  their  labors  they  manifested  during  the 
earlier  stages  of  their  undertaking.  They 
were  both  absent  for  considerable  lengths  of 
time. 

The  following  morning  I  visited  my  wasps 
for  the  last  time,  as  it  was  the  day  of  my  de- 
parture for  home.  They  appeared  to  have  sus- 
pended work  of  adding  cell  bases  and  were 
wholly  engaged  in  increasing  the  length  of 
the  first  seven  cells.  Perhaps  it  was  their 
purpose  to  complete  the  cells  for  the  embryo 
wasps  before  starting  the  apartments  for 
another  brood,  but  more  probable  that  this 
latter  work  was  left  for  the  employment  of 
the  young  wasps  when  they  should  emerge 
from  the  cells  now  being  completed.  I  re- 
gretted I  could  not  take  the  nest  and  builders 
with  me  and  continue  to  watch  the  progress 
and   growth   of  the   family. 

Ed  and  I  spent  the  greater  part  of  one 
afternoon  on  the  desert  making  a  special 
effort  to  capture  some  giant  carpenter  bees, 
insects  that  are  larger  than  the  largest 
bumble  bee.  The  female  is  jet  black  without 
a  mark  of  any  other  color,  while  the  male  is 
orange  yellow.  They  fly  with  almost  the  speed 
of  a  bullet  and  unusually  loud  noise.  We  saw 
one  female  and  three  male  bees  but  made  no 
capture.  These  bees  are  called  carpenter  bees 
from  the  fact  that  they  bore  or  excavate 
holes  in  dry  wood  for  their  nests.  The  holes 
are  round,  about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  are  sometimes  found  12  inches 
in  depth.  The  bees  do  the  boring  with  their 
strong  mandibles. 

The  next  day  we  were  more  successful,  for 
we  succeeded  in  capturing  two  specimens  of 
the  blacks,  but  did  not  see  one  of  the  yellow, 
or  male,  bees,  which  we  were  so  desirous  of 
obtaining.  While  we  were  trying  to  catch  the 
bees    a    man    from    a    camping    party    located 


18 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


19 


nearby  approached  us  holding  a  glass  jar  in 
his  hand.  He  said:  "You  folks  seem  to  be 
interested  in  bugs  and  such  like,  maybe  you 
would  like  to  have  this  thing,"  at  the  same 
time  presenting  the  jar  to  us.  Upon  looking 
into  it  we  found  an  enormous  scorpion,  which 
appeared  as  if  it  would  measure  over  six 
inches  in  length.  It  was  light  in  color,  very 
much  as  if  it  had  been  bleached  out,  quite 
unlike  the  specie  in  the  north  in  this  respect. 
We  received  the  gift  with  thanks  and  the 
monster  was  added  -to  the  curiosities  of  our 
collection  in  Piedmont. 

Of  all  the  canyons  mentioned  in  the  intro- 
duction of  this  chapter,  Chino  is  the  last  of 
these  interesting  places  to  be  described.  It 
was  visited  by  us  several  times,  but  as  the 
notes  of  the  first  trip  are  more  complete  that 
record  is  used  in  the  following  description: 

Friday,  April  20 — This  was  the  day  we  fixed 
for  the  trip  to  Chino  Canyon.  As  there  was 
no  road  for  an  automobile,  it  was  either  go 
on  horseback  or  walk.  The  point  in  the 
canyon  we  intended  to  reach  was  five  and  a 
half  miles  from  the  inn.  We  chose  to  walk 
rather  than  be  bothered  with  horses,  be- 
sides there  was  much  to  see  while  walking 
which  would  be  inconvenient  to  examine  if 
we  were  on  horseback.  By  half  past  seven 
we  had  our  breakfast  and  were  off  on  the 
journey,  taking  a  lunch  with  us  for  it  was  to 
be  an  all-day  excursion.  For  the  first  couple 
of  miles  we  did  not  follow  any  trail,  prefer- 
ring the  untraveled  section,  for  what  greater 
novelty  it  might  present  to  us.  Not  very  long 
after  leaving  the  hotel  we  discovered  there 
was  an  increase  in  the  grade  which  grew 
6teeper  as  we  entered  the  m  >uth  of  the  can- 
yon. At  this  point  we  were  well  up  on  "the 
fan."  struggling  around  great  boulders  and 
dodging  cactus  and  other  spine-laden  bushes. 
It  was  growing  warm  so  we  concluded  it 
would  be  advisable  to  find  the  trail  and  con- 
sequently easier  traveling.  We  picked  it  up 
without  much  trouble  but  there  would  have 
been  some  difficulty  in  following  it  if  it  had 
not  been  marked  by  the  little  piles  of  rocks 
as  had  been  done  in  Palm  canyon  to  indicate 
the  trail  there.  There  is  so  little  travel  to 
Chino  by  people  on  foot  that  long  stretches 
of  the  trail  were  unmarked  by  footprints, 
and  in  places  the  wind  and  rain  had  obliter- 
ated it.  Under  foot  the  going  was  easier  but 
the  day  was  growing  warmer,  and  our  course 
led  us  steadily  up,  up.  There  was  a  pipe- 
line down  the  canyon  along  which  the  trail 
zig-zagged.  The  pressure  breaks  scattered 
along  supplied  us  with  all  the  water  we  wanted 
to  drink,  otherwise  I  think  we  would  have 
been  quite  thirsty  before  reaching  the  end  of 
the  journey. 

We  saw  more  new  flowers  on  our  way,  one 
of  which  I  at  first  thought  belonged  to  th«» 
cruciferae,  as  its  cluster  of  little  half-inch 
white  four-petaled  blossoms  were  somewhat 
after  the  form  of  the  mustard  blossom,  but  a 
closer  inspection  showed  it  to  be  a  member 
of  the  Evening  Primrose  family,  a  Chylisma, 
var.  calavacfirmis.  So  far  as  I  could  le'arn 
from  the  natives  it  bore  no  common  name, 
although  it   was  a  pretty  flower  with   maroon 


dots  at  the  base  of  the  petals,  yellow  stamens 
and  green  stigma  which  invariably  laid  over  to 
one  side  of  the  flower  as  if  to  avoid  too  close 
association   with   the  neighboring  anthers. 

An  odd  flower  that  attracted  our  attention 
I  found  later  was  called  the  bladder-bush.  It 
grew  on  thorny  bushes  three  or  four  feet  high. 
The  little,  bag-shaped,  magenta  colored  flow- 
ers are  born  along  a  stem  and  rather  loosely 
placed.  After  they  wither  the  calyxes  enlarge 
and  form  bags  larger  than  the  flowers  and 
take  the  place  of  the  blossoms.  As  the 
calyxes  are  composed  of  a  tissue-like  substance 
of  a  bright  color,  the  blossom  stems  appear  as 
though  they  were  bearing  two  kinds  of  flow- 
ers   of   different   colors. 

I  found  wel>  up  in  the  canyon  a  couple  of 
white  flowers  which  had  every  appearance  of 
being  members  of  the   Pink  family. 

Among  all  the  strange  flowers  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  meet  an  old  acquaintance,  a  Mimu- 
lus.  It  was  the  variety  Brevipes.  Another 
flower  which  we  found  in  bloom  was  the  In- 
dian paint  brush.  It  is  not  exactly  like  the 
flower  of  that  name  growing  in  our  part  of 
the  country,  but  near  enough  to  claim  a  close 
relationship. 

The  birds  noticed  on  this  trip  and  not  seen 
on  any  of  our  other  excursions  were  blue 
birds,  mountain  quail,  song  sparrows,  a  hawk, 
and  a  little  bird  probably  a  warbler  that  we 
could  not  identify.  White-crowned  sparrows 
were  numerous,  but  unlike  the  birds  of  this 
species  around  Piedmont,  they  did  not  sing. 
These  birds  were  also  constant  visitors  in  and 
about  the  hotel  grounds,  showing  but  little 
fear. 

The  sun's  rays  beating  down  upon  us  in 
the  breezeless  canyon  caused  us  to  remove  our 
coats  and  unbutton  our  collars,  but  as  we 
trudged  along,  this  curious  plant,  that  strange 
flower,  a  fleeting  beetle  here  and  there, 
caused  us  to  forget  the  discomforts  of  the 
heat  and  to  think  only  of  the  pleasures  of  the 
trip. 

The  "fan"  of  Chino  extends  back  into  the 
canyon  for  a  distance  of  fully  three  miles 
from  the  portal  and  nearly  as  far  in  the  op- 
posite direction  from  that  point.  The  object- 
ive point  of  our  trip  was  the  upper  end  of  the 
"fan,"  where  through  some  choking  of  the 
canyon,  probably  during  the  period  of  sub- 
mergence, a  fairly  level  section  of  land  formed 
embracing  five  or  ten  acres.  It  was  now 
covered  with  a  fine  growth  of  large  trees  and 
shrubs,  besides  there  were  two  or  three  large 
patches  of  meadow  with  green  sod,  all  mak- 
ing  a    cheerful    and    restful   spot. 

We  reached  this  oasis  about  half  past 
eleven.  My  pedometer  had  recorded  some- 
thing over  six  miles.  We  estimated  that  more 
than  a  half  mile  of  this  distance  was  due  to 
our  divergences  from  the  trail  in  examination 
of  shrubs,  plants,  flowers  and  chasing  beetles. 

We  found  the  site  of  the  Nature  Man's  for- 
mer home  or  cabin  that  he  built  when  he 
first  came  to  the  desert  and  which  he  aban- 
doned because  it  afforded  more  solitude  than 
he  needed.  However,  the  site  was  all  that 
was  left  of  it;  there  were  only  ashes  and  the 
indestructible    parts   remaining.      It   had   been 


20 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


occupied  by  another  nature  man  who  in  some 
accidental  way  set  it  on  fire  the  Sunday  be- 
fore our  visit.  The  site  was  in  a  group  of  na- 
tive palm  trees,  the  only  trees  of  the  kind  in 
the  canyon. 

Less  than  fifty  feet  away  was  a  large  spring 
of  hot.  water  slightly  charged  with  sulphur. 
An  excavation  had  been  made  about  ten  by 
fifteen  feet  in  dimension  and  two  or  three  feet 
in  depth  for  bathing  purposes.  The  water  was 
not  only  pleasant  to  drink  but  was  remarkably 
soft.  Rubbing  your  hands  in  it  yielded  a  sen- 
sation as  if  you  had  used  soap.  There  were 
several  other  springs  producing  an  abundant 
supply  of  fine  cold  water.  Altogether  the  sur- 
roundings were  such  that  we  wished  we  had 
blankets  and  some  food  that  we  might  camp 
there    for   a   while. 

We  were  surprised  when  we  looked  back 
through  the  canyon  down  upon  the  valley  be- 
low with  the  San  Bernardino  mountains 
beyond,  to  find  we  had  reached  an  elevation 
of  much  greater  height  than  we  had  antici- 
pated. We  both  concluded  that  we  must  be 
up  as  much  as  two  thousand  feet  above  the 
floor  of  the  valley.  We  afterward  learned 
that   the   elevation  was   2600   feet. 

Finding  a  nice  cool  place  by  the  side  of  a 
spring,  shaded  by  the  overhanging  branches 
of  a  huge  cottonwood,  we  sat  down  to  lunch. 
During  the  meal  we  were  joined  by  another 
party  of  trampers,  a  lady  from  the  Inn  with  a 
guide,  "Dutch  Frank,"  a  well-known  pros- 
pector and  mountaineer  of  the  desert  country. 
Upon  conversation  I  found  the  lady  to  be  a 
lover  of  nature  and  outdoor  life,  who  had 
visited  almost  every  section  of  our  state  from 
Oregon  to  the  extreme  south.  After  lurch  the 
lady  declared  her  purpose  to  extend  her 
tramp  still  farther  up  the  canyon.  She  also 
told  the  guide  that  he  could  remain  in  camp 
and   take  a  rest. 

Ed  and  I  spent  some  time  exploring  the 
grounds  and  incidentally  looking  for  coleop- 
tera.  We  were  quite  successful  in  collecting 
specimens  of  several  species,  among  which  were 
a  couple  of  very  large  "clickers,"  some  ground 
beetles,  some  Buprestids,  as  well  as  a  few 
Phloeodes,  a  strange  looking  bug  belonging  to 
the  Tenebrionidae  family.  Feeling  that  a  rest 
would  freshen  me  up  for  the  walk  back  I  lay 
down  on  the  ground  in  a  shady  place.  Ed, 
however,  continued  his  work  collecting. 
"Dutch  Frank"  was  also  laid  out  under  the 
shade  of  a  tree  and  was  soon  fast  asleep.  The 
lady  tramper  came  back  from  her  trip  in  the 
course  of  an  hour  or  so.  After  a  little  rest 
she  and  the  guide  started  back  for  Palm 
Springs.  However,  Ed  and  I  concluded  as  the 
walk  back  was  all  down  hill  and  the  distance 
a  little  less  than  six  miles,  that  we  could 
cover  it  in  two  hours'  time,  therefore  we 
could  remain  to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  the  spot 
at  least  an  hour  longer  and  still  reach  the  inn 
by  6  p.  m.  Another  advantage  of  a  later  start 
was  escaping  some  of  the  heat  of  the  day. 

After  a  rest  and  a  bath  in  the  hot  spring 
the  watch  showed  it  was  time  for  us  to  leave 
the  attractive  spot.  It  was  with  some  reluct- 
ance that  we  started  off.  The  canyon  floor  at 
this  point  is  a  half  mile  wide  and  about  one 


mile  at  the  portal.  The  walls  of  the  moun- 
tains on  both  sides  are  very  steep  and  rise 
several  thousand  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon.  The  peaks  where  the  canyon  heads 
are  still  higher  and  were  covered  with  snow. 
With  the  aid  of  our  glasses  we  could  see  that 
some  kind  of  trees  of  the  conifer  or  pine  fam- 
ily were  growing  in  and  about  the  snow  sec- 
tion. 

While  waiting  for  the  time  to  start  we  heard 
a  thundering  arid  crashing  noise  as  though  a 
great  rock  was  falling  -down  the  mountain 
side.  It  must  have  been  a  very  large  mass 
that  became  detached  judging  from  the  noise 
it  made  as  well  as  that  caused  by  the  falling 
of  other  pieces  displaced  by  it.  The  occur- 
rence seemed  to  have  taken  place  quite  near 
but  we  could  see  nothing  of  it,  not  even  the 
dust  that  accompanies  a  displacement  of  that 
kind.  In  all  probability  the  movement  took 
place  in  some  of  the  side  canyons  out  of  the 
possibility  of  our  vision. 

The  walk  down  the  canyon  was  pleasanter 
than  the  tramp  up.  It  required  less  effort 
and  the  heat  was  not  so  great.  When  we 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  canyon,  consulta- 
tion of  the  watch  showed  we  were  making  the 
time  scheduled  for  the  trip.  When  we  turned 
the  mountain  point  forming  the  south  side  of 
the  portal  to  the  canyon  we  passed  into  the 
shade  of  the  great  mountain  mass  which 
made  it  still  pleasanter  for  us,  besides  we  were 
soon  rid  of  dodging  the  big  boulders,  and 
worse,  the  cactus.  However,  we  did  not 
wholly  escape  punishment  of  too  close  contact 
with  the  latter.  I  bumped  into  a  choya  and 
received  several  barbed  spines  in  my  leg 
above  the  knee,  which  later  required  the  use 
of  a  pair  of  tweezers  and  considerable  pulling 
to   remove. 

Down  on  the  sands  of  the  flat  when  not 
far  from  the  Springs,  we  saw  some  kind  of 
small  animal  or  reptile  about  five  or  six  inches 
long,  with  a  tail  of  about  the  same  length,  of 
a  grayish-white  color,  pass  like  a  flash  across 
a  little  open  space  or  gruunu.  it  went  so  fasi 
we  were  unable  to  determine  what  it  was  or 
even  what  it  was  like.  Noting  the  clump  of 
brush  it  entered  we  prodded  it  out  to  get  only 
another  glimpse  of  the  mysterious  thing.  It 
seemed  to  be  able  to  run  faster  than  a  bird 
could  fly.  We  chased  it  around  from  bush  to 
bush  until  it  finally  escaped,  without  our  be- 
ing able  to  obtain  any  idea  as  to  its  form  or 
general  character.  Whenever  it  came  in  view 
all  that  was  recorded  on  our  minds  was  a 
grayish-white  streak  on  the  desert  sand.  Re- 
porting the  incident  to  Dr.  Coffman  at  the 
hotel,  he  said  in  all  probability  that  what  we 
saw  was  the  desert  white  rat.  a  troublesome 
rodent  in  that  section.  It.  invades  the  house- 
holds and  besides  consuming  eatables  it  car- 
ries off  any  small  movable  articles  that  it. 
comes  across,  things  that  cannot  be  of  any 
possible  use  or  benefit  to  it.  Another  pecu- 
liarity of  the  animal  is  that  when  it  commits 
a  theft  it  leaves  an  article  brought  from 
somewhere  else,  as  much  as  to  say  "a  fair  ex- 
change  is   no   robbery." 

We  entered  the  hotel  grounds  on  our  re- 
turn at  exactly  6  p.  m.,  having  been  two  hours 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


21 


and  five  minutes  in  covering  the  distance  of 
five  and  seven-eighths  miles  recorded  by  the 
pedometer,  or  just  half  the  time  it  took  us  to 
go  up.  Altogether  we  had  walked  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  miles.  A  plunge  in  the 
hot  baths  made  us  forget  the  fatigues  of  the 
day  and  put  us  in  good  humor  for  the  even- 
ing meal. 

One  morning  subsequent  to  the  trip  just  de- 
scribed we  concluded  to  take  a  short  tramp 
out  along  the  base  of  the  mountain  spur  back 
of  town  where  we  found  an  irrigation  ditch 
which  heretofore  had  been  dry,  but  this 
morning  we  noticed  that  it  was  running  full 
of  muddy  water.  As  our  object  on  this  trip 
was  more  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  beetles 
than  anything  else,  the  flood  in  the  ditch  had 
greater  interest  to  us  than  it  otherwise 
would.  The  idea  at  once  was-  suggested  that 
the  running  of  the  water  into  the  ditches  that 
had  been  dry  so  long  would  overtake  and 
drown  many  beetles  that  had  been  attracted 
to  the  cracks  and  crevices  of  the  waterway  as 
places  of  refuge.  A  careful  watch  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  running  stream  soon  showed  our 
deduction  to  have  been  correct.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments we  scooped  from  the  surface  of  the 
water  two  or  three  specimens  of  Diplotaxis, 
then  a  more  rare  Serica.  This  was  indeed 
good  luck.  Instead  of  having  to  chase  around 
on  the  hot  sands  of  the  desert  among  rocks, 
thorny  shrubs  and  the  vicious  choya,  to  obtain 
samples  of  the  beetle  life  of  the  strange  land, 
a  combination  of  circumstances  was  bringing 
them  from  a  large  area  of  the  country  and 
laying  them  down  as  it  were  at  our  feet. 

We  selected  a  shaded  and  otherwise  com- 
fortable spot  on  the  bank  of  the  ditch  and 
proceeded  to  fish  out  of  the  water  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  coleoptera  as  they  came  floating 
down  the  stream.  In  the  hour  and  a  half  we 
spent  in  the  occupation  we  gathered  124 
specimens,  which  was  much  more  than  we 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  captured  in  an 
entire  day's  devotion  to  the  purpose.  Beside 
the  collection  consisted  almost  wholly  of  spe- 
cies entirely  different  from  any  we  had  col- 
lected  on  the  trip. 

As  on  all  of  our  other  trips  we  found  some 
new  flowers,  among  which  was  a  very  pretty 
member  of  the  pentstemon  group,  another  of 
the  mint  family,  which,  by  the  way,  is  well 
represented  in  the  desert  flora;  also  the  flower 
of  the  desert  shrub,  Krameria  Grayi,  com- 
monly called  the  crimson  beak;  and  a  small 
representative  of  the  Phacelias.  The  Daturas 
were  out  in  full  bloom  and  we  found  that  the 
beautiful  large  blossoms  were  harboring  an 
odd   species  of  the  weevil  family. 

I  was  awakened  on  the  beautiful  morning 
of  Sunday,  March  31,  at  a  quarter  to  six  by 
the  sweet  music  of  an  Easter  anthem,  ren- 
dered by  a  chorus  of  about  twenty  voices.  The 
sun  was  just  beginning  to  show  its  rays  above 
the  eastern  horizon  of  the  desert,  and  in  the 
quiet  of  the  early  morning  hour  the  singing 
was  not  only  impressive  but  also  delightful  to 
the  ear.  It  seems  that  it  is  the  custom  of  the 
permanent  residents  of  Palm  Springs  to  as- 
semble at  Lookout  Point,  an  elevation  on  the 
spur    of   the    mountain    range   that   pushes   its 


way  into  the  town  limits,  at  sunrise  on  Easter 
Sunday  and  hold  devotional  services  for  the 
occasion.  A  large  wooden  cross  and  a  flag- 
pole with  the  national  colors  flying,  marks  the 
spot.  The  elevation  is  about  100  feet  above 
the  surrounding  country,  and  is  reached  by  an 
easy  zig-zag   trail   cut  through  the   rocks. 

Being  interested  in  seeing  the  working  of  a 
machine  used  in  clearing  desert  land  we 
walked  to  where  one  was  in  operation.  Al- 
though less  than  a  mile  from  the  inn  where 
there  was  scarcely  a  breeze,  here  we  found 
a  strong  wind  blowing.  Dust  from  the  newly- 
disturbed  ground  was  beginning  to  fly,  a  cir- 
cumstance that  suggested  a  gale  further  out 
in  the  desert,  such  as  might  be  expected 
after  a  heated  spell  described  in  the  theory 
outlined  in  discussing  the  subject  on  a  pre- 
vious page.  A  glance  to  the  eastward  showed 
that  an  unusual  disturbance  of  the  air  was 
in  progress.  A  cloud  of  dust  filled  the  sky, 
shutting  out  all  view  of  the  opposite  side 
of  the  desert,  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
it  moved  showed  there  was  a  tremendous 
force  behind  it. 

When  back  within  the  town  limits  we  found 
no  more  than  agreeable  breeze  prevailing,  just 
enough  to  improve  the  shade  of  the  trees  and 
make  them  most  delightful  places  of  retreat. 
The  warmth  of  the  sun  was  such  as  to  make 
It  imperative  for  comfort's  sake,  to  wear  the ' 
least  amount  of  clothes  compatible  with  pro- 
priety. Yet  within  six  miles  of  us  overcoats 
and  wraps  were  necessary  to  comfort. 

At  the  Springs  the  evening  of  this  day  was 
most  delightful.  The  windows  of  the  dining 
room  were  all  open,  the  ladies  were  in  thin 
dresses  and  men  in  their  summer  suits,  little 
thinking  of  the  terrific  sandstorm  that  pre- 
vailed on  the  desert  less  than  six  miles  away. 

After  supper  and  bidding  adieu  to  the  fam- 
ily and  friends,  I  boarded  the  auto  stage  in 
my  start  of  the  return  trip  home  with  the  lady 
chauffeur  at  the  wheel.  There  were  two  other 
passengers,  an  Indian  and  a  lady.  Soon  after 
starting  the  driver  advised  me  to  remove  my 
glasses  and  to  look  out  for  my  hat,  for  "in  a 
few  minutes  we  will  be  in  the  storm"  that 
had  been  in  progress  all  day.  As  stated,  I 
had  noted  the  disturbance  in  our  morning 
walk,  but  I  was  wholly  unmindful  of  its  power 
and  what  its  effects  were  upon  things  animate 
and  inanimate  that  came  within  the  range 
of  its  force.  I  had  read  of  serious  results  and 
dangers  to  human  life  that  sometimes  accom- 
pany desert  sandstorms,  but  to  personally  ex- 
perience the  fierce  character  of  one  of  these 
terrors  was  something  I  had  never  anticipated, 
and  to  be  suddenly  thrust,  without  warning, 
into  the  very  vortex  of  one  of  the  severest  was 
not    only    surprising    but    even    startling. 

I  have  no  knowledge  of  the  speed  of  the 
wind  on  this  occasion,  but  it  must  have  been 
very  high,  judging  from  the  carrying  force 
it  exhibited.  The  air  was  filled  with  flying 
sand,  grit  and  dust  and  moving  with  such 
speed  that  the  partieles  stung  the  flesh  wher- 
ever exposed,  most  painfully.  I  could  readily 
understand  how  an  exposure  to  it  for  a  brief 
time  would  wound  the  flesh  and  cause  the 
blood  to  flow. 


22 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


THE     "DESERT     CANARY,"     NEAR     PALM     SPRINGS. 


SAN    JACINTO    RANGE,,  FACING    THE    DESERT. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


23 


The  roar  of  the  rushing  wind  was  so  great 
it  fairly  drowned  all  sound  of  the  noisy  auto 
truck  which  was  slowly  bucking  its  way 
through  the  flying  grit,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  brave  little  woman  at  the  wheel.  How 
she  managed  to  keep  the  road  or  make  head- 
way against  the  terrific  force  of  wind,  I  could 
not  understand.  A  short  time  before  we 
reached  the  point  of  full  exposure  to  the  force 
of  the  gale,  we  noticed  an  auto  running  ahead 
of  us  suddenly  stop  and  turn  around  and  go 
back  toward  Palm  Springs.  Now  we  knew  why 
this  was  done.  Further  on  an  auto  top  would 
have  been  no  more  than  a  plaything  to  the 
forces  there  displaying  their  giant  and  merci- 
less strength. 

I  crouched  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  truck 
with  bent  head,  holding  my  hat  down  with 
both  hands.  What  the  others  were  doing 
to  protect  themselves,  I  could  not  see.  It  was 
useless  to  try  to  talk.  I  remember  watching 
miniature  whirlwinds  of  sand  and  grit  swirl- 
ing around  and  over  the  sheet-iron  floor  of 
the  truck,  wondering  what  the  outcome  of 
the  wild  ride  would  be.  Sometimes  when  an 
extra  heavy  gust  of  wind  would  strike  us 
with  terrific  force  it  was  very  suggestive  of 
the  possibility  of  being  wrecked  like  a  ship  in 
a  gale  at  sea. 

The  streams  of  sand  and  heavier  particles 
of  rock  substances  that  came  flying  through 
the  mountain  pass  in  tremendous  gusts  were 
as  if  nature  had  contrived  a  sand  blast  on 
gigantic  scale  with  which  she  designed  to  re- 
model the  surface  of  the  earth.  We  were 
approaching  the  mouth  of  this  awful  blast, 
defined  on  the  southerly  side  by  a  high  point 
of  the  mountain  range  that  marked  the  turn 
into  the  pass.  So  far  we  had  not  encountered 
the  full  unbroken  force  of  the  swift-moving 
sand  and  wind.  Occasionally  I  ventured  to 
peek  over  the  side  of  the  car  or  over  the 
back  of  the  front  seat  to  note  our  progress, 
but  it  was  always  with  some  punishment.  I 
now  saw  we  were  near  to  the  point  mentioned. 
It  did  not  seem  possible  for  the  machine  to 
be  driven  beyond  it,  so  fierce  were  the  gusts 
of  wind  and  so  dense  were  the  clouds  of  fly- 
ing sand.  Our  little  lady  driver  boldly  drove 
the  car  on.  but  when  we  dove  into  the  awful 
blast  the  shock  was  so  great  that  either  she 
was  fearful  of  going  on  or  the  truck  was 
stopped  by  the  force  of  the  gale.  However 
it  was,  she  backed  the  machine  into  a  less 
exposed  place.  Just  then  an  auto  came  flying 
with  the  gale  from  around  the  point.  The 
occupant  was  the  husband  of  our  driver.  He 
proposed  that  we  passengers  get  into  his 
machine  and  he  would  take  us  to  the  station, 
but  when  his  wife  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  although  coming  with  the  wind  the  top 
of  his  machine  was  already  wrecked,  he  ex- 
changed places  with  her.  After  taking  the 
driver's  seat  he  waited  until  there  was  a  lull 
in  the  blast  and  then  drove  on,  and  we 
crouched  down,  seeking  the  best  protection 
we  could  find.  How  he  managed  to  keep 
his  seat,  control  and  direct  the  car  was  mar- 
velous. The  only  protection  he  had  was  a 
pair  of  goggles  and  the  windshield  of  the 
machine.      Although    the    throttle    of   the    ma- 


chine was  wide  open  during  all  the  trip,  there 
were  times  when  the  force  of  the  gale  would 
slow  us  down  to  almost  a  walking  pace,  and 
the  car  staggered  so  I  was  fearful  of  disaster, 
if  not  a  forced  return  to  Palm  Springs.  The 
latter  was  a  proposition  that  I  certainly  would 
have  approved.  However,  the  man  triumphed 
and  finally  landed  us  at  the  station,  where  the 
effects  of  the  gale  were  not  so  severely  felt, 
though  even  here,  when  I  stepped  out  from 
the  shelter  of  the  building,  a  gust  of  wind 
carried  me  backward  four  or  five  feet.  In 
conversation  with  our  last  driver  he  declared 
that  his  wife  could  not  have  made  the  last 
part  of  the  trip.  He  said  that  sand-storms 
were  not  uncommon  here,  but  this  one  was 
the  worst  he  had  experienced.  Beyond  the 
sand  and  dirt  in  my  eyes,  ears,  hair,  beard 
and  clothing,  I  was  none  the  worse  for  the 
experience.  Now  that  it  was  over  with  I  was 
rather  pleased  that  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
experiencing  a  real  desert  sand-storm,  but  one 
is  enough  and  I  will  take  care  to  avoid  any 
more  in   the   future. 

As  there  was  no  waiting-room  at  the  sta- 
tion, which  consisted  of  some  sheds  for 
freight  and  a  building  which  housed  the 
agent  and  his  family  and  supplied  a  little 
office  room  about  five  by  eight  for  railroad 
business,  we  passengers  were  permitted  to  go 
into  the  little  office  for  shelter  to  remain 
until  the  trains  that  were  to  take  on  our 
journeys  came  along. 

When  we  left  Palm  Springs  our  information 
was  that  the  train  was  three  hours  late,  and 
the  stage  driver  delayed  the  departure  from 
the  inn  for  a  corresponding  time,  so  we  would 
not  have  to  wait  at  the  station.  When  we 
arrived,  however,  we  found  that  the  train 
Itself  was  making  slow  headway  against  the 
storm  and  was  losing  more  time  and  would 
not  be  there  for  at  least  an  hour.  Later  on 
the  agent  told  us  the  train  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived at  Indio,  and  that  it  would  take  over  an 
hour  under  the  conditions  to  reach  White- 
water after  leaving  the  other  place.  To  shorten 
a  long  story  of  hopes  and  disappointments  it 
is  only  necessary  to  say  that  the  train  did  not 
pull  into  Whitewater  until  twenty-five  min- 
utes to  11  o'clock,  a  little  over  six  hours  be- 
hind time.  We  made  haste  to  get  aboard  and 
the  train  was  soon  under  way,  headed  into 
the  storm  of  wind  which  still  prevailed,  but 
had   abated   somewhat   in    its   fierceness. 

As  expected,  when  we  reached  the  summit 
of  the  pass,  where  the  moisture-laden  atmos- 
phere drawn  from  the  ocean  district  met  with 
the  cold  temperature  of  the  mountain  tops, 
there  was  a  heavy  precipitation  of  rain,  caus- 
ing a  refreshing  change  in  the  atmosphere. 

Upon  finding  the  conductor  of  the  train,  I 
was  informed  that  the  car  in  which  I  had  my 
Pullman  reservation  to  Oakland  would  go  no 
further  than  Los  Angeles,  as  the  train  was  too 
late  to  make  connections  with  the  train 
leaving  that  city  for  Oakland  at  11:30.  All 
that  could  be  done  was  to  give  me  a  berth 
where  I  could  'sleep  until  7  a.  m.f  then  I 
would  have  to  make  my  way  north  as  best  I 
could. 


24 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


I  accepted  the  situation  and  had  a  fair 
night's  rest,  and  early  in  the  morning  went 
into  the  depot  at  Los  Angeles  and  attempted 
to  get  my  ticket  validated  for  the  train  leaving 
for  home  at  8  a.  m.  by  way  of  the  coast.  After 
considerable  discussion  of  the  request  among 
the  railroad  officials,  I  was  told  that  I  would 
have  to  go  by  the  valley  route.  As  there  was 
a  train  for  Fresno  starting  at  7:50  a.  m.,  I 
decided  to  leave  by  it  and  lay  over  at  Fresno 
and   take   the   midnight  train  there  for   home. 

At  first  I  was  inclined  to  be  vexed  by  the 
decision  of  the  railroad  officials,  but  after  the 
train  started  I  realized  that  many  years  had 
passed  since  I  had  gone  through  the  section 
of  the  state  between  Los  Angeles  and  Fresno 
by  daylight,  and  now  I  was  going  to  see  what 
changes  had  taken  place  and  the  progress 
made  in  developing  the  country  in  all  that 
time.  I  provided  a  book  to  read  if  the  travel- 
ing became  uninteresting,  but  at  the  end  of 
my  journey  I  found  I  had  read  but  a  few 
pages,  and  these  were  scanned  at  the  stations 


where  there  was  some  delay  and  the  train 
was  not  moving.  Nearly  every  mile  of  the 
way  had  its  interesting  feature,  but  what  sur- 
prised me  greatest  was  the  discovery  that  a 
vast  amount  more  of  the  territory  had  been 
brought  under  cultivation  than  I  had  thought 
probable  or  eVen  possible.  Even  up  in  the 
Tehachapi  Pass,  4000  feet  above  sea  level, 
hundreds  of  acres  of  land  embraced  in  a  little 
valley  there  had  been  planted  in  orchards  and 
in  other  ways  was  being  made  to  produce  the 
necessaries  and   luxuries   of   life. 

In  conclusion  I  may  add  that  I  arrived  at 
Oakland  in  good  shape,  well  satisfied  and 
pleased  with  the  southern  trip.  Yet  when  I 
looked  upon  the  green  hills  back  of  Oakland, 
Piedmont  and  Berkeley,  dotted  with  groves  of 
trees  mantled  with  bright,  new,  fresh  foliage, 
I  could  not  help  thinking  that  in  all  my  travels 
I  had  not  seen  a  landscape  more  pleasing  or 
a  country  more  inviting  to  one  who  loves  to 
get  into   close  ^jmmunication  with  nature. 


HONEY    ANT,    AS    IT    APPEARS    WHEN    INFLATED    WITH    HONEY, 
STORED    FOR    FUTURE    USE. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  HATED  INVADER 

Habits  of  the  Argentine  Ant  a  Menace  to  Pacific  Coast  Homes 


When  these  household  pests,  the  Argentine 
ants,  Iridomyrmex  lmniils.  have  established  a 
line  of  travel  from  their  nest  to  some  place 
where  they  have  discovered  food  to  their 
liking,  it  is  interesting  to  watch  them  going 
back  and  forth.  In  all  probability  the  ants 
returning  to  the  nest  are  conveying  food  for 
their  larvae  and  also  for  the  nurses,  or  such 
individuals  of  the  colony  that  remain  in  the 
nest  to  take  care  of  the  numerous  infant  ants. 
However,  this  species  of  ant  is  so  minute  it 
is  impossible  to  determine  without  the  aid 
of  suitable  magnifying  instruments  and  other 
agencies  whether  the  ants  are  carrying  food 
or   not. 

Having  discovered  a  place  in  our  basement 
where  the  ants  had  established  a  line  of  travel 
to  the  apartments  above,  using  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  tongue  and  grooved  board  wall 
for  the  roadway,  I  was  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity for  close  observation  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  ants  to  great  advantage  and 
with    no    discomforts. 

After  watching  the  ants  and  studying  their 
actions  for  several  days,  and  making  some 
experiments  to  test  their  sense  of  smell  and 
location,  I  was  ready  to  concede  as  true,  ex- 
cepting in  the  case  of  some  wasps,  the  claim 
of  certain  eminent  entomologists  who  have 
given  years  to  the  study  of  these  insects  that 
the  ant  family  possess  the  greatest  intelligence 
of   all    insects. 

While  traveling  in  either  direction,  up  or 
down,  I  noticed  that  both  of  the  antennae 
or  "feelers"  of  the  ants  were  continuously 
active  and  were  used  not  altogether  unlike  a 
blind  man  hurriedly  feeling  his  way  with  a 
cane  in  each  hand.  It  is  a  mooted  question 
as  to  how  well  some  species  of  ants  can  see, 
but  it  is  conceded  by  the  best  authorities  that 
some  are  practically  blind.  Whether  the 
Iridomyrmex  can  see  or  not  I  was  unable  to 
determine,  but  from  the  way  they  used  their 
antennae  and  results  obtained  its  kind  seemed 
to  be  in  little  need  of  eyesight. 

The  roadway  or  space  occupied  by  the 
column  of  ants  on  the  wall  did  not  exceed 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  width  at  any 
place  between  the  ceiling  and  the  floor,  the 
points  where  they  emerged  and  disappeared, 
in  the  going  and  coming;  and  a  remarkable 
thing  about  this  roadway  was  that  so  far  as 
the  ants  were  concerned,  it  was  as  well  de- 
fined as  any  highway  in  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia, although  so  far  as  I  could  see  there 
was  absolutely  nothing  to  mark  its  boun- 
daries. However,  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  ants  ran  along  constantly  tapping  the 
board  with  their  antennae,  hunting  their  way 
and    turning    back    into   the      "beaten      track" 


whenever  in  their  haste  they  happened  to  step 
off  of  the  course,  it  was  presumed  that  the 
roadway  was  recognizable  through  the  sense 
of  smell,  and  what  tended  to  confirm  this 
theory  was  the  sinuous  character  of  the  trail. 
While  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  it  was  con- 
fined to  a  single  board  and  in  no  place  was  it 
straight  for  more  than  a  few  inches,  it  swung 
on  long  angles  from  margin  to  margin  of  the 
board.  These  crooks  and  turns  of  their  road- 
way were  followed  by  every  ant,  without 
variation,  going  up  or  coming  down,  for  the 
weeks  they  were   under  observation. 

As  a  test  of  the  accuracy  of  the  conclusion 
I  rubbed  a  place  on  the  wall  about  an  inch 
wide  across  the  roadway  with  a  fresh  piece 
of  Spearmint  chewing  gum,  thinking  if  the 
ants  were  guided  on  their  way  through  sensing 
the  odor  of  their  own  tracks,  they  would  be 
confused  when  they  reached  the  spot,  depend? 
ing  as  I  did  upon  the  probability  that  the 
pungent  odor  of  the  gum  would  obliterate  the 
ant  odor.  I  chose  a  time  for*  applying  the 
gum  when  there  were  but  comparatively  few 
ants  working  and  where  there  was  quite  a 
break  in  their  column.  Now  let  us  see  what 
happened.  When  the  first  ants  to  approach 
the  spot  reached  a  point  within  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  of  the  gum-scented  place  they 
hesitated  in  their  march  and  exhibited  other 
signs  showing  that  they  recognized  that  some- 
thing had  happened  to  their  roadway.  It  was 
as  if  they  had  come  to  a  waterway  where 
their  bridge  had  been  unexpectedly  carried 
away.  The  ants  ran  along  the  bank,  their 
antennae  working  excitedly.  Back  and  forth 
they  went,  until,  notwithstanding  the  pun- 
gent smell  of  Spearmint  they  seemed  to  dis- 
cover the  narrow  course  that  connected  their 
roadway  and  slowly  over  it  they  passed.  If 
the  ants  were  actuated  by  sense  of  direction 
only  it  seems  to  me  that  they  would  have 
crossed  the  obstruction  at  various  points;  but 
not  so,  the  crossing  was  made  without  excep- 
tion at  the  break  in  the  trail.  However,  the 
place  was  not  found  and  used  without  con- 
fusion and  study  of  the  situation  on  the  part 
of  the  insects.  The  effect  of  the  obstruction 
was  the  same  upon  the  ants  on  either  side. 
All  were  held  up  here  on  their  course 
whether  it  was  up  or  down  the  wall.  The 
obstruction  was  operative  for  an  hour  or 
more,  though  after  the  first  quarter  it  was 
not  so  effective.  Even  after  the  first  five 
minutes  some  of  the  ants  began  to  cross, 
showing  less  hesitation  and  confusion.  While 
a  few  others  ants  for  more  than  two  hours 
after  were  disturbed  and  confused  to  some 
extent  by  the  lingering  scent  of  the  Spear- 
mint. 


26 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


*!■"■ 


wm 


r^''% 


< 

i— i 
h 

g 

o 
H 

s 

c 
o 

B 

H 
£ 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


27 


In  watching  the  actions  of  the  ants  at  the 
crossing  and  noting  the  variations  of  conduct 
in  individuals,  how  timid,  excited  and  hesi- 
tating some  were,  while  others  showed  de- 
cidedly opposite  traits  I  was  impressed  with 
the  thought  of  how  human-like  these  charac- 
teristics were. 

When  the  traveling  of  the  ants  was  fully 
resumed  and  the  disturbing  odor  of  the  gum 
no  longer  interfered  with  the  passing  insects, 
the  line  of  travel  over  the  spot  was  exactly 
the  same  as  it  was  prior  to  the  interruption, 
indicating  that  the  odor  of  the  ant  trail  was 
preserved  though  it  had  been  temporarily 
overwhelmed  by  the  spicy  smell  from  the  gum. 

It  is  a  generally  accepted  fact  that  odor 
is  an  important  feature  in  the  life  history  of 
the  ant  family.  Each  species  of  the  insect 
possesses  a  characteristic  smell,  which  is  so 
strong  in  some  kinds  as  not  only  to  be  recog- 
nizable by  human  olfactories,  but  is  also  very 
offensive.  In  all  probability  the  odor  that  is 
peculiar  to  a  species  varies  in  its  subdivisions 
of  colony,  caste,  and  even  individuals  as  point- 
ed out  by  Miss  Fielde,  who  has  given  much 
study  to  this  side  of  ant  life,  otherwise  it 
would  be  difficult  to  account  for  the  hostility 
existing  between  adjacent  colonies  of  the 
same  species.  No  one  can  watch  the  actions 
and  behavior  of  ants  in  their  work  and  meet- 
ing wih  one  another  without  recognizing  the 
use  they  make  of  their  antennae  that  they 
are  just  as  much  olfactory  organs  to  the  ants 
as  is  the  nose  to  the  human  family. 

Although  fully  satisfied  that  these  little 
insects  depended  largely  on  their  sense  of 
smell  in  their  activities,  I  thought  to  make 
another  experiment.  This  time  I  concluded  to 
puff  some  tobacco  smoke  against  the  wall  so 
its  fume  would  envelop  the  column  of  work- 
ers passing  back  and  forth  at  that  point.  I 
reasoned  that  if  the  ants  had  no  sense  of  smell 
the  tobacco  fume  would  not  disturb  them  or 
interrupt  them  in  their  marching  up  and 
down  the  line  of  the  wall.  The  first  light 
puff  of  smoke  blown  upon  the  ants  caused 
more  excitement  and  confusion  than  did  the 
odor  of  the  gum,  but  the  effect  was  not  as 
lasting.  However,  they  exhibited  more  dis- 
tress, some  few  individuals  curled  up,  lost 
their  footing  and  fell  to  the  floor;  others  ran 
around  in  a  circle,  while-  some  stood  still, 
excitingly  moving  their  antennae,  probably 
trying  to  make  out  the  source  of  the  horrible 
suffocating  smoke.  As  the  fume  of  the 
tobacco  quickly  passed  away  the  ants  soon 
resumed  their  courses  on  the  wall.  It  was  ap- 
parent from  their  actions  that  the  ants 
possess  very  sensitive  olfactory  organs.  Of 
course  this  fact  was  established  long  ago  by 
investigators  of  the  life  history  of  these  in- 
sects, but  reading  or  being  told  of  the  remark- 
able things  done  in  the  insect  world  and  the 
operation  of  human  like  faculties  of  some  of 
its  individuals  is  not  so  impressive  or  con- 
vincing as  an  ocular  demonstration.  As  the 
Argentine  ants  have  no  friends  in  this  locality 
I  have  little  fear  of  rebuke  for  blowing 
smoke  in  their  faces.  In  truth,  owing  to  their 
impudent,  thieving  traits  there  are  few,  if 
any,  householders  who  would  not  have  treated 


them  to  boiling  water  and  ant  poison  instead 
of  Spearmint  and  tobacco  smoke. 

There  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  their 
appetites,  which  are  as  active  at  night  as  in 
the  daytime.  Though  it  is  nothing  to  their 
credit  there  are  some  things  of  the  household 
provender  they  will  not  partake  of,  but  such 
things  are  so  few  the  fact  does  not  tend  to 
reduce  the  unpopularity  of  the  unwelcome 
foreigners.  So  numerous  and  common  is  the 
invasion  of  homes  in  nearly  every  part  of  the 
Eastbay  section  by  these  insects  that  the  in- 
habitants are  at  their  wits'  end  in  devising 
schemes  to  keep  such  eatables  as  the  ants' 
will  attack  free  from  contamination  by  them. 
Butter,  cheese  and  milk  are  among  the  few 
articles  of  food  excluded  from  the  diets  of  the 
Argentines,  and  in  our  home  they  do  not 
bother  flour,  mush  or  plain  breadstuff.  How- 
ever, about  all  other  articles  of  food  have  to 
be  placed  in  dishes  set  in  pans  of  water  to 
protect  them   from   the  minute  pests. 

Professor  William  M.  Wheeler,  entomologist 
of  Harvard  University,  who  probably  knows 
more  about  the  habits  of  ants  than  any  of 
our  other  investigators  or  students,  says  the 
food  of  ants  varies  with  the  genera  and 
species.  Some  kind  of  ants  rely  on  other  in- 
sects which  they  may  capture  and  kill,  or 
find  dead.  Other  ants  live  almost  wholly  on 
the  larvae  and  pupae  of  ants  captured  from 
other  colonies.  Then  there  are  some  ants  that 
find  their  food  in  honey-dew  which  is  plant 
juice  that  has  undergone  certain  changes  in 
the  alimentary  tract  or  by  contact  with  cer- 
tain glands  of  the  insects.  Besides  there  are 
kinds  of  ants  which  includes  the  species 
known  as  the  Harvesters,  which  feed  on  seeds 
of  plants,  grasses  and  small  fruits,  injured 
fruits,  bulbs  and  tender  roots.  Finally  there 
is  a  tribe  of  ants,  the  Attii,  which  lives  ex- 
clusively on  fungus  hypae  which  grows  on 
certain  vegetable  substances  carried  into 
their  nests  by  the  ants.  Professor  Wheeler 
says  "that  probably  there  is  no  single  specie 
of  ant  able  to  draw  on  all  these  sources  of 
food,  but  many  ants  utilize  several  of  them 
and  may  be  said  to  be  more  or  less  omniver- 
ous,  finding  it  an  easy  matter  to  pass  from 
one  kind  of  food  to  another,  if  it  will  only 
yield  to  their  mouth  parts,  that  is,  if  it  can 
be  imbibed  directly  as  a  liquid  or  rasped  off 
in  minute  particles  from  which  the  liquid  can 
be  expressed  in  the  hypopharyngeal  pocket." 
From  my  observations  I  would  place  the 
Argentine  in  this  latter  class  of  feeders.  It 
is  its  omniverous  appetite  that  makes  it  such 
an  unwelcome  guest  in  our  homes. 

Though  countless  numbers  of  the  ants  are 
destroyed  daily  through  the  agency  of  boiling 
water  and  various  kinds  of  ant  poisons,  they 
multiply  so  rapidly  that  their  numbers  seem 
to  suffer  no  dimunition.  Though  of  tropi- 
cal or  semi-tropical  origin,  the  conditions 
about  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  seems  par- 
ticularly favorable  for  their  existence  and 
propagation.  Immense  popularity  and  greater 
fortune  is  awaiting  the  individual  who  dis- 
covers a  method  that  will  rid  our  homes  of 
these  little  pests  and  protect  them  from 
future    invasion.        Ant      powders      containing 


28 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


THE    QUEEN. 


WILD  LIFE  *N  CALIFORNIA 


29 


pyrethrum  are  offensive  and  death  dealing  to 
the  Argentines  and  by  a  liberal  use  of  the 
powders  we  can  protect  our  homes  from  be- 
ing overrun,  and  with  care,  attention  and 
continued  use  of  the  powders  we  can  keep 
the  annoyance   reduced   to  the   minimum. 

Has  the  Iridomyrmex  come  to  stay?  Will 
it  continue  to  be  a  pest  of  our  homes  for  all 
time  to  come?  These  questions  could  be  best 
answered  by  some  such  authority  as  Profes- 
sor W.  M.  Wheeler,  who  has  made  a  life 
study  of  ant  family.  It  is  not  beyond  a  pos- 
sibility that  some  species  of  pupae-eating  ant 
or  some  other  order  of  predaceous  insect 
might  be  introduced  here  that  would  hunt  out 
and  invade  the  nests  of  the  pest  ants  and 
exterminate  the  colonies  by  devouring  the 
young,  just  as  the  Argentines  have  done  in 
exterminating  about  all  other  species  of  ants 
that  were  common  about  our  gardens  and 
homes  a  few  years  ago.  This  suggestion, 
however,  does  n/>t  hold  out  much  hope  of 
relief.  Nor  does  the  possibility  that  the 
pests  may  be  attacked  by  entomophthoreae 
fungi  that  at  times  spread  among  various 
forms  of  insect  life,  causing  great  fatality. 
There  are  several  species  of  the  fungus,  but 
the  life  history  of  each  is  much  the  same.  The 
germs,  or  spores,  which  are  extremely  minute 
are  supposed  to  find  their  way  to  the  inter- 
nal parts  of  the  insect  by  being  on  or  in  the 
food  which  the  latter  eats.  Once  inside  the 
fungus  begins  to  develop  from  the  spore  and 
as  its  parts  absorb  the  interior  organs  the 
insect  suffers  a  slow  death.  '  Soon  after 
death  occurs  the  fungus  makes  its  appear- 
ance on  the  outer  parts  of  the  victim.  Some 
species  send  stems  of  shoots  several  inches  in 
length  out  from  the  head,  thorax  or  other 
parts  of  the  body  while  other  kinds  of  fungi 
can  be  recognized  only  on  the  exterior  of  the 
unfortunates  by  the  whiteish  powdery  ap- 
pearance of  a  rapid  growth.  A  common  ex- 
ample of  this  species  and  its  work  is  the 
ordinary  house  fly  that  we  sometimes  see 
dead  upon  the  windowpane  appearing  as  if 
it   had   just   escaped    from    a    flour   barrel. 

But  while  hoping  for  an  enemy  insect  or 
the  fungi  to  relieve  us  of  the  pest,  the  house- 
wife cannot  relax  in  the  use  of  boiling  water 
and  insect  poisons  to  keep  the  ants  reduced 
to  the  smallest  number;  besides  giving  trial 
to  every  reasonable  suggestion  for  the  ex- 
termination of  the  invaders.  These  thoughts 
prompted  me  to  look  up  suggestions  made  by 
the  best  authorities  on  fighting  insect  pests, 
when  I  found  that  W.  Newell,  a  student  of 
this  particular  nuisance,  recommends  a  "trap 
made  in  form  of  a  box  2x2x3  feet,  filled  with 
cotton-seed  and  straw  on  other  porous  vege- 
table material.  The  top  of  the  box  is  left 
open  so  that  its  contents  are  exposed  to  the 
weather.  The  interior  of  the  compost  mass 
becomes  warm  through  decomposition,  and 
as  winter  approaches  attracts  the  ant  colonies. 
During  the  month  of  January,  after  the  col- 
onies have  assembled  in  the  box,  its  cracks 
are  closed,  a  pound  or  two  of  carbon  bi- 
sulphide is  poured  into  the  compost  and  the 
whole  is  covered  with  a  waterproof  canvas 
till    the   ants   are    asphyxiated." 


Another  plan  which  neighbors  have  tried 
and  found  very  effective,  is  to  put  pieces  of 
sponge  saturated  with  sweetened  ant  poison 
in  perforated  tin  cans  and  then  place  these 
cans  ten  or  fifteen  feet  apart  around  the 
basement  of  the  house  on  the  ground  outside. 
The  theory  of  this  scheme  is  that  the  ants, 
which  generally  live  outside  of  the  houses, 
will  be  attracted  to  the  poisoned  food  before 
invading  the  interiors.  If  the  ants  are  not 
killed  by  the  poison,  the  generous  supply  of 
food  makes  it  unnecessary  for  them  to  go 
farther.  Of  course,  the  supply  of  poison  must 
be   kept  up  in  the  sponges. 

The  Argentine  ants  have  found  homes  in 
this  country  in  and  about  two  seaports  of 
the  United  States — San  Francisco  and  New 
Orleans.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  know 
how  these  pests,  whose  nativity  or  place  of 
origin  is  South  America,  managed  to  get  es- 
tablished in  this  part  of  the  world.  It  is  easy 
to  understand  how  numbers  of  ants  might  be 
brought  here  in  merchandise  shipped  from 
the  distant  ports  of  the  South,  but  when  we 
contemplate  the  fact  that  colonies  of  these 
ants  are  made  up  of  Queens,  males  and  work- 
ers, the  latter  of  which  are  neuters  and  are 
about  the  only  ants  in  evidence  unless  we  can 
unearth  their  nests  in  which  the  two  former 
remain  until  mating  season,  the  transplanting 
has  some  complex  features. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  Argentines  is  that  unlike 
most  other  genera  of  ants,  the  male  instead  of 
the  queen  is  the  winged  ant,  as  shown  in  the 
illustration. 

No  work  on  mymexcology  at  my  disposal 
gives  the  details  of  the  life  history  of  this 
particular  genus  of  ants,  but  in  nearly  all 
other  genera  of  ants  with  similarly  constituted 
colonies,  new  nests  or  colonies  are  started  by 
young  queens  which  leave  the  parent  nest 
upon  being  fertilized,  and  the  queen  ants 
are  winged  when  they  emerge  from  the  pupae 
state.  Thus  they  are  enabled  to  fly  to  some 
distance  from  their  former  abode.  When 
they  alight  about  the  first  thing  they  do  is  to 
bite  off  or  remove  their  wings,  these  append- 
ages being  wholly  useless  to  them  in  all  situa- 
tions of  their  future  life.  They  then  seek 
some  favorable  place  in  the  ground,  under 
rocks,  wood  or  chinks  in  masonry  in  which  to 
start  a  nest.  There  they  lay  a  lot  of  eggs  and 
raise  the  first  brood,  feeding  and  caring  for 
them  with  all  attention  and  anxieties  usually 
manifested  by  mothers  of  higher  order  of  life. 
As  a  rule,  this  first  brood  consists  of  workers 
which  take  up  the  care  of  the  nest  and  future 
hatchings,  and  the  queen  has"  no  other  duty 
than  to  remain  in  the  nest  and  lay  eggs. 

With  this  order  of  life  in  view,  it  would 
seem  that  queen  ants  must  have  been  in  some 
manner  transported  from  South  America  to 
this  country.  However,  Wasmann,  an  ento- 
mologist of  note,  found  in  oue  species  of  ant 
that  he  had  under  observation  that  "one  or 
a  few  workers  became  gynaecoid";  that  is, 
became  egg-laying  workers,  and  fulfilled  the 
duties  of  the  absent  queen.  If  this  peculiarity 
is  a  feature  in  the  life  history  of  the  Argentine 
ant,   the   riddle  would  be  explained.      Perhaps 


30 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


4 


THE    WORKER    OF   THE   ARGENTINE    ANTS,    THE    FORM    SO    NUMEROUS    AND 

SO   COMMONLY   SEEN.      ENLARGED   24    TIMES. 

From  drawings  by  Miss  Charlotte  M.  King. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


31 


some  student  of  ant  life  will  soon  tell  us 
whether  it  is  so  or  not. 

Mr.  Newell,  who  has  made  some  observa- 
tions of  the  habits  of  the  Iridomyrmex  hu- 
mills,  or  Argentine  ant,  says  this  species  nests 
both  out  of  doors  and  in  the  woodwork  and 
masonry  of  houses,  and  the  colonies  which 
may  inhabit  a  large  area  have  the  unique 
habit  of  coming  together  on  the  approach  of 
winter  and  uniting  in  one  large  colony  which 
may  contain  a  large  number  of  queens.  In 
the  spring  this  big  colony  divides  or  splits  up 
into  numerous  smaller  colonies,  which  spread 
out  and  cover  an  extensive  territory.  This 
fact  suggests  that  the  winter  months  are  the 
best  time  in  which  to  war  upon  the  pest. 

The  presence  of  these  ants  in  the  United 
States  was  noted  eleven  years  ago,  and  it  was 
then  mentioned  that  there  was  a  possibility 
of  their  overrunning  the  warmer  sections  of 
the  country.  In  all  probability,  they  had  been 
here  for  a  season  or  two,  at  least,  before  it 
was  discovered  they  were  established.  So  far 
as  I  can  learn  from  enquiry  and  observation, 
the  pest  does  not  seem  to  have  extended  its 
habitat  to  any  distance  easterly  beyond  the 
range  of  hills  back  of  Oakland  and  Berkeley. 
Therefore  it  would  seem  as  if  there  existed 
some  conditions  in  the  easterly  section  un- 
favorable to  their  requirements  in  the  matter 
of  temperature  or  food.  Neither  do  they  seem 
to  have  extended  their  operations  south  any 
distance  beyond  the  bay  where  the  frost  is 
more  severe  and  freezing  weather  sometimes 
prevails. 

Since  the  advent  of  foreign  ants  the  number 
of  English  sparrows  about  the  City  of  Oak- 
land, and  some  of  its  suburbs,  have  become 
less.  The  decimation  is  more  noticeable  in 
the  streets  and  the  more  thickly  built-up  resi- 
dent districts.  Residents  of  fifteen  years  ago 
will  easily  recall  how  numerous  these  birds 
were  on  Broadway  and  Washington  and  the 
central  cross  streets,  as  well  as  in  the  parks; 
and  how  common  it  was  to  see  the  litter  of 
their  nesting  material  hanging  from  all  the 
nooks   and   corners   of   building  fronts.        Now 


some  of  the  streets  and  buildings  are  entirely 
free  from  the  large  flocks  of  sparrows,  but 
without  careful  investigation  and  study,  it 
cannot  be  set  down  for  a  fact  that  the  Argen- 
tine ants  are  responsible  for  the  change.  If 
they  are  to  be  credited  with  partially  ridding 
the  community  of  the  pest  bird,  the  deed  must 
have  been  accomplished  by  the  ants  swarm- 
ing into  the  nests  of  the  sparrows  and  killing 
the  nestlings  when  first  hatched.  This  idea 
was  suggested  to  me  by  the  experience  of  a 
resident  of  Piedmont,  who  for  many  years 
has  maintained  an  aviary  in  his  grounds  for 
keeping  and  rearing  canaries.  Up  to  the  last 
three  or  four  years,  he  had  no  trouble  in 
raising  young  birds,  nor  did  he  discover  any 
unusual  interference  in  the  various  features 
of  the  brooding  of  the  birds  until  in  late  years. 
Now  it  is  quite  different.  Though  the  birds 
build  their  nests  and  hatch  their  young  as 
formerly,  the  baby  canaries  all  die  within  a 
brief  time  after  seeing  the  light  of  day.  For 
a  while  the  gentleman  was  puzzled  for  a  solu- 
tion of  the  cause  of  the  fatality,  but  finally 
he  discovered  that  the  nests,  after  the  hatch- 
ing,  were  overrun  with  Argentine  ants. 

The  English  sparrows  have  the  habit  of 
nesting  in  one  locality,  if  not  disturbed,  and 
raising  several  broods  in  a  season.  Thus 
creating  a  condition  similar  to  the  nesting  in 
the  aviary,  which  enables  the  ants  to  locate 
the  nestlings  more  readily  and  with  certainty. 
In  the  case  of  other  birds,  as  a  rule,  they 
locate  their  nests  in  trees  and  shrubs  away 
from  the  buildings  where  the  ants  are  most 
common,  and  get  through  with  their  family 
cares  before  the  locality  might  be  discovered 
by  the  enemy  ants  even  if  some  of  their  scouts 
were  ranging  around  away  from  human  hab- 
itations, where  the  ants  seem  to  find  a  greater 
supply   of  food  to   their  liking. 

Should  the  decimation  of  the  sparrow  pest 
prove  to  be  due  to  the  advent  of  the  Argentine 
ants,  there  are  some  people  who  will  look 
upon  the  latter  with  less  feelings  of  enmity 
than  others  not  annoyed  by  the  birds. 


32 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


THE    BLACK    WIDOW    CATCHES    FLIES    WITH     HER     HIND     FEET. 


CHAPTER  111 


THE  BLACK  WIDOW 

Record  of  the  Actions  of  a  Spider  While  Over  Two  Years  in  Captivity 


On  the  22nd  of  August,  1916,  while 
rambling  over  the  Pleasanton  ridge,  I  cap- 
tured a  jet  black  spider,  the  body  of  which 
was  about  the  size  of  a  marrowfat  pea.  It 
was  while  I  was  overturning  objects  on  the 
ground  to  see  what  character  of  insect  might 
be  found  that  I  discovered  the  spider  under  a 
rock,  in  a  place  she  made  her  home,  and  from 
whence  she  went  forth  to  prey  upon  such 
forms  of  insect  life  as  would  furnish  food  for 
her  sustenance.  I  was  not  looking  for  spiders 
and  was  not  particularly  interested  in  that 
form  of  insect  life,  but  this  particular  spider 
was  so  black,  neat  and  clean  in  appearance,  I 
at  once  concluded  to  place  her  in  captivity,  so 
as  to  have  her  under  observation,  and  in  that 
way  possibly  learn  something  of  her  habits, 
traits  and  manners  of  capturing  the  victims 
upon  which  she  lived. 

I  placed  her  in  a  large-mouth  bottle,  with  the 
top  so  arranged  as  to  have  plenty  of  air  and 
convenient  for  the  insertion  of  other  insects 
as  food.  The  first  thing  I  did  after  getting 
home  was  to  consult  books  on  spiders  to  ascer- 
tain what  species  it  was  that  I  had.  After 
some  comparisons  of  descriptions  with  my 
captive,  I  found  the  latter  was  known  in  the 
classification  of  the  order  as  Latrodectus 
ma  elans,  with  the  common  name  of  Black 
Widow,"  the  title  she  was*  known  by  in  my 
household  for  the  suceeding  two  years  and 
seventh  months,  where  she  remained  an  in- 
teresting and  seemingly  contented  guest  for 
the  period   mentioned. 

What  the  average  length  of  spider  life  is  I 
am  unable  to  state,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  under  favorable  conditions  it  might  be 
four  or  five  years  at  least.  The  Black  Widow 
was  of  mature  size  when  I  found  her,  and  if 
a  year  old  at  that  time,  she  was  not  far  from 
being  four  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  demise 
in  the  latter  part  of  March,  1919.  My  reason 
for  fixing  a  greater  age  as  a  possible  length 
of  life  for  spiders  than  that  attained  by  the 
Black  Widow  is  that  I  feel  almost  certain  that 
she   died  of  starvation. 

Her  diet  while  under  my  observation  con- 
sisted exclusively  of  house  flies.  During  the 
summer  months  it  wats  no  trouble  to  find 
enough  flies  to  feed  her  quite  regularly  two 
or  three  times  a  week,  but  during  the  winter 
she  was  fortunate  if  fed  that  often  in  a  month 
owing  to  the  difficulty  in  finding  flies  during 
cold  weather.  In  the  first  winter  of  her  cap- 
tivity I  noted  that  she  passed  five  weeks  at 
one  time  and  over  three  weeks  at  another 
without  food,  or  showing  any  evidence  of 
hunger  or  sharpened  appetite  when  fed  after 
the    prolonged    fasts. 

At  this  time  I  had  three  or  four  representa- 
tives  of   other   orders     of     insects     under    ob- 


servation at  my  home,  and  in  the  winter  ex- 
perienced a  similar  difficulty  in  procuring 
food  for  them,  which  occasioned  fasts  upon 
their  part  of  durations  equaling  those  experi- 
enced by  the  Black  Widow,  apparently  with- 
out   detrimental   effect. 

Contemplating  these  facts  led  to  the  con- 
sideration of  how  carnivorous  insects  under 
natural  conditions  live.  The  irregularity  that 
must  frequently  prevail  in  the  length  of  time 
between  meals,  especially  when  conditions  arise 
making  food  scarce,  cause  •  spiders  and  other 
predaceous  insects,  particularly  those  forms 
whose  habits  of  life  necessitated  their  lying 
in  wait  for  food  victims,  to  undergo  periods  of 
irregular  lengths  of  enforced  fasting.  This 
being  so,  nature  must  endow  such  forme  of 
life  with  exceptional  powers  of  endurance. 
But  even  here  there  must  be  a  limitation  and 
the  thought  prompted  me  to  thereafter  record 
the  dates  on  which  I  gave  the  Black  Widow 
and  the  other  insects  food.  As  at  this  time 
we  are  interested  only  with  the  career  of  the 
Widow,  I  will  give  the  dates  on  which  she 
only  was  fed.  The  feeding  rarely  consisted 
of  more  than  one  large  fly.  The  following  are 
the  dates:  1918 — July  11,  28,  August  5,  28, 
September  10,  16,  19,  30,  October  4,  9,  Novem- 
ber 6,  19,  20,  December  22;  1919 — January  16. 
•From  the  last  date  until  March  27  there 
were  no  flies  to  be  caught  in  the  house.  On 
that  date  I  went  to  the  bottle  containing  the 
spider  to  give  her  a  fly  and  found  that  she 
was  dead.  She  was  alive  and  as  active  as  ever 
on  March  22,  when  I  noticed  her  working 
around  the  web  she  had  made  in  the  bottle. 
At  that  time  I  was  conscious  of  the  fact  that 
she  had  been  without  food  for  an  unusually 
long  period,  and  I  made  a  search  of  the  prem- 
ises, the  house  and  garden  for  some  kind  of 
an  insect  that  would  be  acceptable  to  her, 
but  without  success.  Conceding  that  she  died 
on  that  date,  she  had  been  without  food  for  a 
period  of  two  months  and  one  week.  If  old 
age  did  not  claim  her  as  a  victim,  then  some- 
thing like  sixty  or  seventy  days  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  probable  limit  of  endurance  of 
the  particular  species  of  spider  without 
nourishment. 

While  this  experience  with  the  Black 
Widow  may  throw  some  light  upon  the  en- 
durance of  spiders  in  abstinence  from  food, 
it  is  not  sufficient  to  establish  a  limit,  or 
much  less  supply  a  rule  in  fixing  the  limit 
of  the  power  of  abstinence  in  other  forms  of 
insect  life.  In  saying  this  I  have  in  mind  that 
during  the  experiment  with  the  spider  I  had 
placed  a  larva  of  an  omus  (a  genus  of  beetle) 
in  a  bottle  filled  with  earth,  hoping  it  would 
pupate.  I  dampened  the  earth  after  the  man- 
ner    of    the    soil     these    insects    inhabit    and 


34 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


■  <  i ;  < 


/2» 


&&? 


:#   'I 


H* 


THE     BLACK    WIDOW    IN    CAPTIVITY. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


85 


started   a  hole  in  it  with   the   point   of  a   lead 
pencil.     The  larva  took  to  the  hole  and  soon 
buried  itself  from  sight.     After  a  day  or  so  I 
introduced  a  big  fly  as  food  for  the  prisoner. 
After  a  week  or  so  I  put  in  another  fly,   but 
after    the    most    careful    observation     I     could 
not   see   that   the   larva  had   fed    on   either   of 
them.      It  certainly  had  not  masticated  them, 
as  these  insects  are    supposed    to    dispose    of 
their  victims.     Therefore  I  concluded  the  larva 
either   did  not  eat  flies  or  was  entering  upon 
the    stage    of    pupation    when    insects    do    not 
eat  anything,  and  I  did  nothing  more  than  to 
occasionally    moisten   the    earth    in    the    bottle 
for   a    period    of   seven    months.      At   the    end 
of  this  time  I  thought  the  larva  must  be  dead 
or  pupating.    To  my  great  astonishment,  when 
I   broke   the   bottle   and   opened   up   the   earth 
it   was    in    neither    condition,    but   very    much 
alive  and  even  larger  with  its  hideous  features 
more     developed.      Upon     being     disturbed     it 
opened   its  huge  and   fierce-looking  mandibles 
as    if    in    declaration    of    its   willingness   for   a 
"scrap."    Under  natural  conditions  these  beetles 
in  larva  form  live  in   holes  made  horizontally 
in  banks  of  earth  which  they  never  leave  until 
they  change  to  the    mature    form    of    beetle. 
The  larva  comes  to  the  mouth  of  entrance  of 
the  hole  and  there,  with  its  head  sticking  out, 
awaits    the    coming    of    some    insect    which    it 
may   seize   and   make  a  meal   of.     This   latter 
statement    is    on    the    authority    of    other    ob- 
servers,  for  although   I   have   examined   many 
infested  banks  I  never  caught  sight  of  a  larva 
peering  out  of  a   hole.      The    mouths    of    the 
holes,    with    their   beveled   rims,    bear   out   the 
statement  that  the   insects  do  come   part  way 
out,  but  their  appearance  is  probably  at  night, 
and   not   in   the   daytime     when     I     made    my 
search.     The  beveling  of  the  edges  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  holes  is  undoubtedly  caused   by 
the    exserted    part   of   the   body    of   the    insect 
swaying  around.      But  when  you  consider  the 
steep    banks     and    dependence    entirely    upon 
chance   for   some   unfortunate   insect  to   fly   to 
it  or  crawl  over  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  come 
within   reach   of  the   larval   inhabitants,  hang- 
ing out  of  their  windows  waiting  for  a  gift  of 
food,    it   is   no   more   than   reasonable   to   sup- 
pose that  the  meals  in  those  domiciles  are  not 
only  very   irregular   but  seldom   served.     This 
supposition  would  explain  the  remarkable  en- 
durance exhibited  by  my  omus  larva  in  exist- 
ing  without  food   while   in   captivity.      Nature, 
it  would   seem,   in  fixing  the  scope   of  activi- 
ties of  this  particular  species  of  insect,  decreed 
that  it  should  remain  withing  the  limits  of  its 
home   or   hole   in   the     ground    while     in     the 
larval   stage,   and   at   the  same   time   endowed 
it  with  compensating  power  of  enduring  with- 
out food,  for  what  seems  to  human  kind,  re- 
markably long  periods  of  time. 

However  this  may  be,  let  us  return  to  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  When  I  first  placed 
the  Black  Widow  in  the  bottle  I  used  a  round 
paste-board  pill  box  for  a  stopper,  inverting  it 
in  the  mouth  of  the  bottle,  perforating  the 
bottom  of  the  box  for  air.  The  box  thus  placed 
afforded  something  of  a  dark  place  where 
she  made  her  retreat  and  remained  the  greater 
part  of  the  time  during  daylight.  At  night 
she    would    come    down    and    work    on    a   web 


which  she  spun  all  around  the  inside  of  the 
bottle,  which  she  eventually  connected  with 
threads  run  on  angles  across  from  side  to  side, 
making  a  kind  of  ladder  which  she  used  in 
going  up  and  down. 

She  had  the  web  partially  constructed  when 
I  inserted  the  first  fly.  It  soon  became  en- 
tang'ed  in  the  spider's  net,  but  the  spider  did 
not  pounce  upon  it  at  once,  as  I  was  rather 
expecting  she  would.  For  some  moments  she 
remained  seemingly  indifferent  to  its  pres- 
ence. She  was  not  yet  sufficiently  familiar 
with  her  new  surroundings  not  to  be  fright- 
ened when  I  gave  her  the  fly.  However, 
shortly  after,  when  the  fly  began  to  make  a 
strenuous  effort  to  escape  from  the  web  the 
Black  Widow  began  to  move  her  body  up  and 
down,  showing  that  she  had  taken  notice  of  the 
presence  of  the  victim.  After  a  few  seconds' 
indulgence  in  this  movement  she  made  a  jump 
for  the  victim,  landing  near  enough  to  throw 
a  rope  of  her  webbing  apparently  freshly  spun 
for  the  purpose  around  the  body  of  the  fly 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  bind  down  its  wings. 
Then  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  relate  it  she 
made  several  more  wraps  around  it.  In  short, 
the  spider  quickly  made  a  perfect  job  of 
trussing  its  victim  so  it  could  move  neither 
wings  nor  legs.  This  work  she  did  with  her 
hind  feet,  and  the  fact  that  her  head  was 
away  from  the  point  of  action  was  no 
hindrance  in  the  dexterity  of  the  operation. 
While  engaged  in  the  trussing  process  she 
stopped  two  or  three  times  to  turn  and  bite 
the  victim.  The  effect  was  to  quiet  the 
struggles  of  the  fly  and  make  the  work  of 
binding  it  up  easier. 

Now  the  Black  Widow  was  ready  to  take  the 
first  meal  she  had  in  captivity.  She  grasped 
the  fly  with  her  third  pair  of  legs,  those  next 
to  the  hind  ones  (spiders  have  four  pair  in- 
stead of  three,  as  do  the  true  insects),  and 
carried  it  to  her  place  of  retreat  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  bottle.  She  began  her  feast  by 
applying  her  mouth  parts  first  in  one  place 
and  then  in  another  about  the  thorax  of  the 
victim,  turing  the  fly  around  and  about  quite 
as  easily  and  dexteriously  as  a  squirrel  handles 
a  nut.  This  procedure  occupied  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  whether  it  was  one  of  examination 
of  fitness  for  food  or  for  hastening  the  death 
of  the  fly,  though  that  seemed  to  have  been 
accomplished  by  the  biting  when  it  was  first 
attacked  by  the  spider,  I  could  not  say.  Ap- 
parently satisfied  that  it  was  all  that  it  should 
be,  the  Widow  moved  down  her  ladder,  this 
time  carrying  the  fly  with  her  two  hind  legs. 
She  took  a  position  about  half-way  down  and 
then  began  the  meal  in  earnest.  She  applied 
the  mouth  appendage  by  which  she  extracted 
the  juices  of  the  fly,  apparently  between  the 
thorax  and  abdomen,  and  there  it  remained 
for  almost  one  hour,  leaving  the  inference 
that  she  had  been  feasting  for  about  the  same 
length  of  time  that  an  epicure  in  affluent  cir- 
cumstances would  give  to  a  meal  in  a  first- 
class  hostelry.  After  finishing  the  fly,  she 
left  the  remains  hanging  in  the  web,  but  the 
next  morning  I  found  the  dead  fly  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bottle.  And  I  may  state  here  that 
the  spider  uniformly  made  the  same  final  dis- 
position   of   all   the    dead    bodies   of   the    flies 


86 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


H 
X 

O 

w 
s 


»V 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


37 


that  I  fed  to  her  in  the  more  than  two  and 
one-half  years  of  her  captivity,  excepting  the 
last  three  flies  I  gave  to  her;  these  were  left 
hanging  in  the  web  at  the  place  where  she 
had  finished  with  them. 

This  radical  change  in  her  habits  of  neat- 
ness and  order  cause  me  to  think  that  pos- 
sibly the  Black  Widow  was  reaching  her  age 
limit  and  probably  would  not  live  much  longer. 
However  that  may  be,  I  cannot  repress  the 
thought  that  the  last  long  fast  at  least 
hastened   her  demise. 

Referring  to  my  notes  on  the  conduct  of 
the  spider  while  under  observation  I  find  the 
following  taken  from  the  record  of  her  ac- 
tions and  disposition  relating  to  the  second 
fly  fed  to  her:  "The  spider  bound  the  extreme 
ends  of  the  two  wings  with  the  hind  legs  of 
the  fly  securely  to  the  body;  these  being  the 
most  troublesome  appendages,  were  the  first 
dealt  with,  indicating  caution  and  method  on 
part  of  the,  spider.  She  then  proceeded  to  se- 
cure the  other  legs  of  the  fly  from  movement 
by  binding  them  up  to  the  body  with  webbing. 
In  both  actions  this  was  handled  or  spun  out 
with  her  hind  feet.  I  could  not  see  that  she 
bit  this  fly  during  the  trussing  process." 

After  two  or  three  weeks  of  captivity  the 
Black  "Widow  ceased  to  be  disturbed  or 
alarmed  when  I  picked  up  her  bottle  pre- 
paratory to  feeding  her.  On  the  contrary, 
if  the  movement  of  the  body  up  and  down 
mentioned  in  the  description  of  her  dealing 
with  the  first  fly  was  a  necessary  or  habitual 
act  in  preparation  for  an  attack  on  a  victim, 
she  certainly  must  have  learned  to  recognize 
in  my  act  of  picking  up  her  bottle  at  feeding 
time,  for  she  invariably  went  through  those 
motions  on  all  such  occasions  and  seldom  de- 
layed pouncing  upon  the  flies  as  soon  as 
introduced. 

On  the  whole  I  think  the  Widow  probably 
lived  a  longer  life,  with  more  agreeable  ex- 
periences, in  captivity  than  if  she  had  been 
left  in  the  hole  under  the  rock  where  I  found 
her.  Her  enforced  quarters  were  larger,  and 
besides  she  was  immune  from  attack  by  in- 
sectiverous  birds  and  reptiles  and  the  greater 
danger  from  spider-hunting  wasps. 

As  with  snakes,  many  people  have  instinctive 
feelings  of  revulsion  toward  spiders.  Though 
they  may  be  fond  of  animals,  snakes  and 
spiders  are  the  last  things  they  would  think 
of  making  pets  of.  Though  I  confess  to  this 
feeling  in  some  degree,  it  does  not  go  to  the 
extent  that  I  want  to  kill  all  these  forms  of 
life  I  meet  with.  I  am  free  in  mind  to  pass 
by  all  that  are  not  harmful  and  dangerous  to 
human  life.  It  is  known  that  the  non-poi- 
sonous snakes  are  not  only  harmless  but  are 
a  decided  benefit  in  the  help  they  give  the 
farmers  in  keeping  down  the  numbers  of 
destructive  rodents  that  infest  the  country. 
As  to  spiders,  it  is  a  question  whether  they 
are  dangerous,  or  harmful,  or  not.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  their  appearance  belies  their  power 
to  harm.  Spiders  will  bite,  but  some  authori- 
ties say  the  effect  is  less  serious  than  the  sting 
of  a  bee  and  no  worse  than  a  wound  caused 
by  a  mosquito.  Others,  while  admitting  this 
to  be  true  as  to  the  spiders  infesting  the 
temperate  zones,  say  there  are  species  in  the 


tropics  capable  of  inflicting  wounds  that  in 
some  instances  may  involve  death.  Frank  E. 
Lutz  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  says  in  his  "Field  Book  of  Insects"; 
"The  bite  of  all  spiders  is  poisonous — that  is 
the  way  they  kill  their  food — but  there  is  so 
little  poison  and  so  few  spiders  are  strong 
enough  to  bite  through  the  human  skin,  even 
if  they  would  try,  that  spiders  are  not  danger- 
ous." Again  he  says,  speaking  of  a  black 
spider  that  lives  under  stones  or  pieces  of  wood, 
"It  is  the  only  spider  of  Northeastern  United 
States  concerning  which  there  is  even  mod- 
erate evidence  of  its  seriously  biting  human 
beings." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  standard  dictionary 
says:  "Some  spiders  are  by  far  the  most 
venomous  animals  in  existence  in  proportion 
to  their  size;  that  the  bite  of  a  spider  can  be 
fatal  to  man  (and  there  are  authentic  in- 
stances of  this)  implies  a  venom  vastly  more 
powerful  than   most  poisonous  snakes." 

When  considering  that  the  dictionary  com- 
ment applies  to  spider?  of  the  whole  world, 
including  the  tropics,  and  Lutz'  description 
only  to  the  species  infesting  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  United  States,  the  two  statements 
may  be  regarded  as  less  conflicting  than  care- 
less reading  would   make  it  appear. 

So  far  as  my  own  observations  in  this  mat- 
ter goes  in  affording  any  evidence  it  would 
be  to  sustain  the  conclusions  of  Dr.  Lutz.  I 
have  seen  many  serious-looking  wounds  that 
people  attributed  to  the  bites  of  spiders,  but 
in  every  instance  the  bites  have  been  inflicted 
at  night  while  the  victim  was  asleep. 

Inasmuch  as  we  have  in  this  section  of  the 
country  a  species  of  hemiptera  that  is  quite 
numerous  at  times,  which  enters  our  homes, 
especially  in  the  country,  in  search  of  insects 
that  infest  houses,  and  is  not  backward  in 
inserting  its  sharp  dagger-like  beak  into  human 
flesh,  I  think  it  more  logical  to  charge  it  with 
the  offense  laid  to  the  spider.  This  insect  is  a 
reduviidae  and  is  commonly  called  the  "Kissing 
bug."  The  sting  made  by  its  proboscis  is  not 
only  very  painful,  causing  large  inflamed 
swellings  at  time,  but  the  effect  is  more  last- 
ing than  any)  insect  wound  I  know  of.  Some- 
times in  some  districts  they  are  more  numer- 
ous than  spiders,  yet  while  everybody  knows 
the  latter  when  they  meet  with  it,  not  one  in 
500  people  can  identify  the  Kissing  bug 
or  is  aware  of  its  harmful  character.  It 
would  be  a  good  idea  for  those  people  unac- 
quainted with  the  bug  to  familiarize  them- 
selves with  its  appearance,  for  it  is  one  of  the 
things  in  this  life  that  is  best  to  avoid 
socially.  It  is  a  little  over  a  half-inch  in 
length  and  has  somewhat  the  general  appear- 
ance of  a  common  beetle,  though  it  does  not 
have  the  chitinous  wing  covers  that  character- 
izes the  latter  kind  of  insects.  When  not  fly- 
ing it  keeps  its  wings  folded  close  to  its  body. 
There  are  six  or  more  specie  in  the  United 
States,  which  vary  to  some  extent  in  shape 
and  markings,  but  the  one  most  frequently 
found  in  our  dwellings  is  marked  with  red  on 
wings  and  body. 

Spiders  do  not  eat,  or  masticate,  the  solid 
parts  of  the  insects  they  kill  for  food,  but  only 
suck  the  juices  of  the  body.    Their  mouths  are 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


equipped  with  a  pair  of  jointed  appendages 
which  when  unfolded  for  use  look  like  a  pair 
of  mandibles.  They  are  known  as  falces.  The 
outer  joint  is  saber-like  and  folds  inward  like 
the  blade  of  a  pocket-knife.  The  falces  are 
used  to  kill  their  prey.  A  duct  runs  through 
each  joint,  opening  at  the  tip,  through  which 
the  spider  forces  a  jet  of  poison  from  connect- 
ing glands  located  in  the  cephalothorax.  Not 
infrequently  spiders  seize  and  hold  their  vic- 
tims with  their  falces,  especially  when  the 
prey  is  large  and  troublesome  to  subdue. 

I  had  a  house  spider  also  under  observa- 
tion after  I  became  interested  in  the  Black 
Widow,  which,  as  I  have  stated,  was  a  field 
or  outdoor  spider.  The  former  had  a  beauti- 
ful seal  brown  color  of  a  velvety  texture  and 
was  about  a  half-inch  in  length.  Upon  cap- 
ture she  was  placed  in  a  ten-ounce  bottle, 
where  she  remained  for  a  few  weeks  over  a 
year.  For  the  first  month  I  kept  the  mouth 
of  the  bottle  covered  to  prevent  her  escape. 
During  this  period  she  constructed  a  capsule 
of  webbing  on  the  side  of  the  bottle  in  which 
she  deposited  a  batch  of  eggs.  This  act  indi- 
cated that  she  was  contented  with  the  situ- 
ation; therefore  I  removed  the  cover  of  the 
bottle,  giving  her  opportunity  to  leave  if  dis- 
posed. But  so  far  as  I  know,  she  never  went 
outside  of  her  glass  domicile.  Of  course,  I 
supplied  the  flies  necessary  for  her  food. 

I  think  this  spider  might  properly  be  styled 
a  dainty  eater.  One  fly  seemed  to  satisfy  her 
needs  for  some  time.  If  two  flies  were  placed 
in  the  bottle  within  the  same  half  day  the 
second  one  was  ignored  for  hours.  In  fact, 
she  would  back  away  if  it  happened  to  come 
in  proximity  to  her  in  its  ramblings. 


Her  method  of  attacking  the  flies  was  some- 
what different  from  that  of  the  Black 
Widow,  which  it  will  be  remembered  threw 
webbing  around  her  victims  and  trussed  them 
up  so  they  could  not  move  either  wings  or 
legs.  "Brownie,"  the  name  I  gave  the  last 
spider,  simply  waited  for  its  victims  to  come 
within  reach;  then  she  jumped  upon  and  bit 
them  and,  so!  far  as  I  could  see,  used  no  web- 
bing whatever.  In  fact,  there  was  little  need, 
if  any,  for  it,  for  the  effect  of  the  bite  was 
instantaneous,  resulting  either  in  death  or 
complete  paralysis.  After  capturing  the  fly 
the  spider  would  feed  on  its  juices  for  three 
to  four  hours. 

Three  months  after  her  residence  in  the 
bottle  she  made  another  capsule  in  which 
more  eggs  were  deposited.  Six  months  after 
that  still  another  nest  with  eggs  was  formed 
and  about  ten  weeks  later  a  fourth.  The 
capsules  were  all  close  together.  She  passed 
all  of  her  time  on  top  of  the  capsules,  as  if 
guarding  the  welfare  of  the  eggs  they  con- 
tained. I  maintained  a  careful  watch  of  the 
eggs,  but  never  observed  the  slightest  change 
in  their  appearance  from  the  first  time  I  saw 
them. 

This  spider  was  fed  more  generously  than 
the  Black  Widow,  but  on  four  or  five  occasions 
during  the  winter  months,  by  reason  of  the 
scarcity  of  flies,  it  experienced  fasting  periods 
of  two  and  three  weeks  each.  During  these 
times  I  thought  hunger  might  induce  her  to 
leave  the  bottle  on  foraging  expeditions,  but 
she  did  not,  appearing  to  prefer  remaining  at 
home  and  having  her  meals  brought  to  her, 
although   irregular   and   far   apart. 


THE   REDUVIIDAE — THE  KISSING   BUG — THE   BITE   OF  WHICH   IS  SOMETIMES 
ATTENDED  WITH   THE   MOST   SERIOUS  CONSEQUENCES. 


CHAPTER  IV 


NESTING  IN  A  BOTTLE 

Queer  Place  Selected  by  a  Wasp  in  Which  to  Build  a  Nest 
Subsequent  Raid  of  a  Skunk 


In  a  six-ounce  bottle  that  I  had  been  using 
as  a  trap  for  beetles,  at  Larkcrest,  near 
Pleasanton.  I  found  that  a  wasp  of  the  genus 
Polistes  had  started  a  nest  of  nine  cells.  The 
bottle  had  a  wide  mouth,  and  I  usually  placed 
it  in  a  slightly  reclining  position  in  a  depres- 
sion on  a  bank  sheltered  by  a  board.  A  little 
oil  or  piece  of  animal  fat  served  to  attract 
beetles  which,  after  entering  the  bottle,  did 
not  seem  to  be  able  to  get  out  again.  This 
trap  I  visited  and  collected  the  victims  as 
often  as  I  went  to  Larkcrest.  This  Spring  my 
visits  had  not  been  as  frequent  as  usual,  and 
some  six  weeks  had  passed  prior  to  June  5th 
without  an  inspection  of  the  trap.  On  this 
day  I  put  my  hand  under  the  board  and 
brought  out  the  bottle,  and  to  my  great  sur- 
prise I  saw  that  a  wasp  had  started  a  nest  in 
it  and  the  "lady  of  the  house"  was  "at  home." 
I  was  so  startled  by  the  nearby  presence  of 
an  insect  with  such  a  reputation  for  venom 
that  my  first  impulse  was  to  drop  the  bottle 
and  "beat  it,"  as  the  boys  say.  However, 
as  Mrs.  Polistes  did  not  show  any  resentment 
at  my  familiarity  I  took  the  opportunity  to 
see  what  she  was  doing  in  my  trap. 

The  cluster  of  cells  comprising  the  nest 
were  hanging  down  in  the  form  always  con- 
structed by  this  species  of  wasps.  The  stem 
supporting  the  cluster  was  attached  to  the 
bottle  near  the  mouth.  There  were  nine 
cells,  most  of  which  were  completed  and  con- 
tained grubs  or  the  larvae  of  the  wasp.  I 
replaced  the  bottle  under  the  board.  Eight 
or  ten  days  later  I  again  visited  the  place 
and  upon  inspection  of  the  nest  found  that 
sevoral  of  the  cells  had  been  covered  or 
sealed  up  indicating  that  the  grubs  had  en- 
tered upon  the  next  stage  of  the  wasp's  life 
cycle.  As  I  was  spending  the  greater  part  of 
the  summer  at  Diablo,  a  distance  of  seven- 
teen miles  from  Larkcrest,  I  concluded  to  re- 
move the  bottle  with  the  wasp  and  embryo 
family  to  the  former  place  where  I  could  bet- 
ter watch  the  development  of  the  little  colony. 

The  next  day,  early  in  the  morning  before 
the  mother  wasp  had  become  warmed  suf- 
ficiently to  justify  her  going  out  for  her 
breakfast,  I  took  the  bottle  and  fastened  a 
piece  of  cheese  cloth  over  the  mouth,  thus 
preparing  for  the  removal  of  the  wasp  home 
and  household.  I  put  the  bottle  in  my  suit- 
case with  my  clothes.  Upon  arrival  at  Diablo 
I  removed  the  bottle  and  found  mother  Polis- 
tes perched  on  the  nest  without  manifesting 
the  least  discomfort  or  objection  to  the  treat- 
ment she   had   undergone. 


However,  I  concluded  it  would  be  well  to 
keep  her  a  prisoner  for  another  day  as  long  as 
she  made  no  effort  to  go  out.  The  next  day 
I  placed  the  bottle  on  the  ground  under  the 
end  of  my  porch  and  removed  the  cover.  She 
did  not  take  immediate  advantage  of  the  lib- 
erty thus  presented  as  I  was  somewhat  fear- 
ful she  would  do,  and  all  the  surroundings 
being  changed,  become  bewildered  and  lost. 
Judging  from  human  experience  she  must 
have  been  hungry  after  such  a  long  impris- 
onment. In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  she 
left  the  bottle.  "Whatever  it  may  have  been 
that  prompted  her  to  leave  the  nest,  whether 
to  satisfy  her  appetite,  inspect  the  new  sur- 
roundings, get  a  drink,  or  to  procure  ma- 
terial for  the  construction  of  additional  rooms 
for  an  increasing  family,  I  was  unable  to 
determine.  When  I  found  she  had  left  the 
nest  I  knew  I  was  soon  to  be  informed  as  to 
what  effect  the  change  of  seventeen  miles  in 
location  of  the  nest  and  of  entirely  different 
surroundings  was  going  to  have  upon  its 
proprietress. 

I  took  a  seat  where  I  could  easily  see  the 
wasp  if  she  were  disposed  and  able  to  return 
to  the  nest.  In  about  a  half-hour  I  was 
greatly  pleased  to  see  her  come  back  and 
take  a  position  on  the  nest  as  if  she  were 
wholly  indifferent  to  the  alteration  of  the  sur- 
roundings. Her  return  meant  that,  with  no 
accidents  to  interfere,  I  was  going  to  have 
the  opportunity  of  watching  the  proceedings 
of  nest-building,  hatching,  rearing  of  young, 
etc.,  by  this  species  of  wasp  under  unusual  and 
most    favorable    conditions. 

For  the  first  week  there  was  nothing  to 
note  beyond  the  starting  of  the  bases  of  some 
additional  cells  and  laying  of  eggs  therein. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  one  morning  before 
it  was  warm  enough  for  the  wasps  to  be 
about,  I  found  three  wasps  on  the  nest.  It 
was  evident  that  at  least  two  of  the  pupae 
had  matured  and  that  two  young  wasps 
had  emerged  from  their  cells  and  increased 
the  family  to  that  extent.  Within  the  next 
day  or  two,  two  more  wasps  were  added  to 
the  family.  The  newcomers  were  as  indus- 
trious as  their  parent,  for  they  began  at  once 
to  assist  in  adding  more  cells  and  completing 
the  cells  partially  constructed  by  their 
mother,  and  in  the  performance  of  all  the 
other   family   housework. 

During  the  middle  or  heated  part  of  the 
day  tne  different  memoers  of  the  family  were 
making  trips  to  and  from  the  nest,  presum- 
ably  for   the   material   for   enlarging   the   nest 


40 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


BABY  WASP. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


41 


or  food  for  the  grubs  that  were  hatching, 
probably  for  both.  I  endeavored  to  find  out 
what  kind  of  food  it  was  they  were  bringing 
home.  It  was  either  in  too  minute  parcels 
or  taken  into  the  mouth  in  such  a  way  I 
could  not  determine.  On  one  occasion,  how- 
ever, I  obtained  a  glimpse  of  an  insect  held 
in  the  jaws  of  one  of  the  returning  wasps,  that 
appeared  to  be  a  small  fly  or  gnat,  but  of 
that  I  could  not  be  positive. 

There  were  a  number  of  Polistes'  nests  in 
the  neighborhood  and  many  of  the  wasps 
were  to  be  seen  at  all  times  during  the  mid- 
dle part  of  the  day  scouting  around  the  outer 
branches  and  leaves  of  the  large  valley  oak 
trees  in  our  yard,  which  seemed  to  be  In- 
fested by  numbers  of  small  insects.  The  ac- 
tions of  the  wasps  suggested  that  their  pres- 
ence there  was  for  the  purpose  of  capturing 
some  of  the  insects. 

Quite  often  during  the  day  all  the  wasps, 
but  one,  belonging  to  my  bottle  family,  would 
be  away.  At  no  time  did  I  ever  find  the  nest 
wholly   unguarded. 

By  the  addition  to  the  family  mentioned 
the  number  of  workers  was  materially  in- 
creased, and  an  enlargement  of  the  nest  was 
noticeable.  Cells  started  by  the  mother  or 
queen  wasp  were  completed  and  several  new 
ones  were  added   to  the  group. 

Fearing  something  might  happen  to  inter- 
fere with  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the 
family  if  I  left  the  bottle  on  the  ground,  I 
planned  to  change  the  location  by  placing 
it  on  a  shelf  on  the  side  of  the  house,  about 
five  feet  above  where  it  had  been  on  the 
ground.  I  made  the  change  after  dark.  The 
next  morning  early  I  found  that  all  the  mem- 
bers were  on  the  nest  and  so  far  undisturbed 
by  the  removal  of  the  bottle  containing  their 
home.  However,  by  noontime  I  found  all 
but  one  were  away  and  I  waited  a  couple  of 
hours  or  more  in  vain  for  the  return  of  the 
absentees,  but  none  came  back.  Evidently 
the  family  did  not  intend  to  acquiesce  in  my 
purpose  to  place  their  nest  in  a  safer  posi- 
tion. Upon  examination  of  the  location 
where  the  bottle  had  been  for  several  days  I 
found  some  of  the  wasps  at  rest  on  the  under 
side  of  the  flooring  of  the  porch  while  one 
was  flying  slowly  around  the  spot  as  if  try- 
ing to  find  out  what  had  become  of  the  nest 
or  to  satisfy  itself  that  the  nest  had  surely 
disappeared.  I  then  returned  the  bottle  to 
its  former  place  on  the  ground  and  within  a 
half-hour  all  the  wasps  were  back  on  the 
nest.  I  repeated  my  attempt  to  make  a  per- 
manent change  of  location  the  next  night  and 
for  the  three  following  nights  but  my  efforts 
were  unsuccessful.  The  results  were  the 
same  each  day.  Then  I  concluded  to  let  the 
bottle  remain  on  the  ground.  The  only  way 
that  I  could  account  for  the  fact  that  the 
nest  could  be  moved  seventeen  miles  and  not 
be  abandoned  when  the  inmates  were  re- 
leased, and  not  moved  six  feet  without  con- 
trary results,  was  the  thought  that  in  the 
first  instance  the  surroundings  were  in  every 
detail  altered,  while  in  the  latter  case  the 
only    change    in    surroundings   was   that   made 


by  the  slight  change  of  location  of  the  bottle. 
The  house  porch,  trees,  shrubs,  vines  and 
grass,  the  location  of  which  they  had  become 
familiar  with,  were  all  there  just  as  they  had 
always  been  in  their  experience,  and  their 
intelligence  was  not  great  enough  for  them 
to  remember  that  they  had  left  the  nest  from 
another  location,  or  in  other  words  recognize 
the  fact  that  a  change  had  been  made  when 
they   flew   out   of   the   bottle   in   the   mornings. 

For  two  or  three  days  and  nights  nothing 
happened  to  disturb  the  family,  when  early 
one  morning  just  before  daybreak  I  heard  a 
noise  under  the  porch  which  made  me  think 
that  possibly  a  skunk  was  attacking  the  wasp 
nest.  I  got  out  as  quickly  as  possible  to  res- 
cue my  pets  if  necessary.  It  was  not  yet  light 
enough  to  see  all  objects  clearly,  but  I  heard 
a  noise  such  as  a  small  animal  going  through 
the  brush  and  dry  leaves  would  make,  so  con- 
cluded whatever  it  was  it  had  been  frightened 
away  and  I  returned  to  my  bed.  When  I 
arose  for  the  day  the  first  thing  was  to  visit 
the  wasp  family.  To  my  sorrow  and  great  dis- 
appointment I  found  the  bottle  bottom  side 
up  down  the  embankment  several  feet  from 
the  porch.  A  hasty  examination  showed  the 
stem  by  which  the  nest  was  attached  to  the 
bottle  to  be  broken  and  the  group  of  cells  with 
their  contents  hanging  by  but  little  more  than 
a  thread,  so  that  it  swung  and  swayed  with 
the  least  movement  of  the  bottle.  I  moved 
the  bottle  with  the  greatest  care  and  placed  it 
so  the  nest  would  hang  as  #near  its  normal 
position  as  possible.  Several  wasps  were  in 
the  bottle.  I  did  not  count  them.  I  was 
intent  upon  getting  the  nest  and  bottle  back 
to  its  place  under  the  porch. 

After  breakfast  I  visited  the  wasps,  wonder- 
ing what  they  would  do  or  how  they  would 
be  affected  by  the  damage  done  to  their  nest. 
I  rather  expected  to  find  that  the  thread  or 
fibre  that  had  been  holding  the  nest  in  sus- 
pension was  broken,  and  that  the  nest 
would  be  found  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the 
bottle.  I  was  unprepared  for  what  I  did  see, 
for  it  was  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  result 
of  Fabre's  experiments  with  the  mason  bees. 
To  my  surprise  and  great  satisfaction,  I  found 
one  of  the  wasps  carefully  examining  the 
break  in  the  stem.  By  the  rapid  and  .nervous 
working  of  her  antennae  around  and  about 
the  broken  stem  I  judged  that  these  append- 
ages were  playing  no  small  part  in  the  ex- 
amination. I  at  once  surmised  that  this  pre- 
liminary inspection  meant  that  something 
more  interesting  was  soon  to  follow,  so  I  care- 
fully replaced  the  bottle,  then  afterwards 
made  frequent  visits  to  it.  Every  time  I  made 
an  observation  of  the  condition  of  things  in 
the  bottle  during  the  next  two  days  I  saw  one 
or  two  wasps  working  around  the  damaged 
stem.  In  short,  the  wasps  were  repairing  the 
damage  by  renewing  the  stem  at  the  broken 
place.  At  the  end  of  the  two  days  the  work 
•>f  repair,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  was  com- 
oleted.  When  I  picked  up  the  bottle  I  found 
lhe  nest  to  be  firmlv  suspended  once  more  by 
he  renewed  stem.  The  wasps  set  up  a  buzzing 
remonstrance    at     my    familiarity    with     their 


42 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


'  Uk 


'<■■&¥' „^\  ■■'  -  <  i\ 


;:<3 


N  \  ~^~  ' 


\ 


v 


V 


T 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


43 


44 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


habitation,  so  I  replaced  it  without  much 
delay. 

As  I  view  the  action  of  the  wasps  in  exami- 
nation of  the  broken  part  and  subsequent  work 
in  repairing  it,  it  is  not  difficult  to  recognize 
a  rational  act.  In  the  first  place  there  was  the 
recognition  of  a  damage  to  their  nest.  Some- 
thing exceptional  in  character  in  the  life  his- 
tory of  this  particular  family  of  wasps.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  no  accident  of  this  kind 
was  experienced  by  the  ancestors  of  these 
wasps  for  ages  past,  so  no  precedent  to  supply 
even  remotely  an  impulse  of  instinct.  In  the 
next  place,  their  work  showed  they  under- 
stood that  the  condition  of  the  stem  necessi- 
tated repair  for  the  security  of  their  home, 
and  they  made  it  promptly  and  in  a  work- 
manlike manner. 

If  these  insects  were  endowed  with  no  power 
that  we  call  mental  or  rational  whatever,  and 
were  guided  solely  by  instinct  that  supplies  a 
routine  of  actions  throughout  their  existence, 
that  is,  impels  them  to  build  a  nest  at  a  cer- 
tain time  in  a  certain  form,  lay  eggs,  provide 
foor  for  their  young,  etc.,  having  once  ful- 
filled the  requirements  of  that  instict,  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  expect  them  to  duplicate  or  re- 
peat any  action  that  is  not  duplicated  in  the 
routine  of  their  lives.  In  fact,  that  was  Fabre's 
test  in  his  effort  to  find  out  whether  his  wasps 
and  bees  were  actuated  by  reason  or  instinct. 
He  based  an  opinion  that  it  was  instinct  alone 
on  results  obtained  in  experimenting  with  the 
mason  bee,  where  he  broke  off  the  bottom  of  a 
cell,  and  the  poor  bee  continued  to  deposit 
honey  in  the  top.  As  it  ran  out  at  the  bottom 
as  fast  as  she  deposited  in  the  top,  of  course 
she  was  unable  to  fill  the  cell. 

To  protect  the  wasp  family  from  another 
attack  by  marauding  skunks  I  drove  some 
small  stakes  into  the  ground  around  the  part 
of  the  bottle  that  was  exposed.  The.  other  side 
was  protected  by  the  porch  construction.  Two 
weeks  or  more  now  passed  and  things  seemed 
to  be  going  along  nicely  and  prosperously  with 
the  Polistes.  More  wasps  were  hatched  and 
the  nest  was  enlarged.  The  daily  actions  of 
the  members  of  this  industrious  family  were 
so  far  as  I  could  see  wholly  confined  to  the 
duties   already    described.      I    said    industrious, 


for  they  seemed  very  busy  while  at  work. 
However,  they  did  not  believe  in  long  hours  of 
labor.  As  a  rule  it  was  about  9  o'clock  in  the 
morning  before  any  of  them  left  the  nest,  and 
generally  they  were  all  back  and  on  the  nest 
for  the  night  by  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

They  seemed  very  attentive  at  all  times  to 
the  grubs  in  the  cells.  I  noticed  wasps  that 
had  been  out,  upon  their  return  put  their 
heads  into  open  cells,  and  I  supposed  they 
were  feeding  the  baby  wasps.  I  would  like  to 
have  witnessed  the  operation,  for  I  had  read 
that  the  young  ones  open  their  mouths  to  be 
fed  somewhat  like  young  birds,  but  I  was 
unable  to  see  what  took  place,  as  the  head  of 
the  mature  wasp  feeding  the  grubs  filled  the 
mouth   of  the   cell. 

Somewhat  over  a  month  had  passed  since  I 
transferred  the  nest  and  bottle  from  Pleas- 
anton  to  Diablo  when  I  was  called  to  Oakland 
on  some  business  matters.  I  was  absent  from 
Diablo  two  or  three  days.  Upon  my  return, 
about  the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  visit  the 
site  of  my  wasp  family  home.  What  I  found 
was  very  disappointing  and  somewhat  surpris- 
ing. I  had  underrated  the  cunning  and 
strength  of  the  skunks  when  some  fat,  rich 
wasp  grubs  stood  as  a  reward  for  their  efforts. 
The  stakes  had  been  pulled  apart  so  they 
could  get  the  bottle  out  of  the  pocket  I  had 
made  for  it.  Then  it  was  an  easy  matter  for 
the  animals  to  complete  the  destruction  of  the 
unique  wasp  domicile  with  no  one  around  to 
interfere  with  the  murderous  raid.  When  I 
found  the  bottle  about  four  feet  from  the 
pocket  there  was  not  a  vestage  of  the  nest 
remaining  in  it,  nor  could  I  find  any  part  of 
the  nest  or  cell  on  the  ground  thereabout.  I 
never  did  fancy  skunks  and  now  I  had  another 
grudge  charged  up  against  them.  They  not 
only  destroyed  an  object  of  curiosity  and  ex- 
traordinary interest,  but  interrupted  all  fur- 
ther possibility  of  acquiring  any  new  informa- 
tion as  to  the  conduct  and  habits  of  this  colony 
of  wasps.  A  nest  in  a  clear  glass  bottle,  af- 
fording such  exceptional  advantages  for  c*lose 
and  thorough  observations  of  the  habits  and 
work  of  the  insects,  was  something  I  could 
hardly  expect  to   find  again. 


CHAPTER  V 


INTERESTING  EXPERIENCES 

While  Engaged  in  Studying  the  Habits  of  Some  of  the 
Wild  Birds  of  California 


On  a  midsummer  evening  while  walking  out 
among  the  shrubbery  and  flowers  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Diablo  Country  Club  I  saw  a 
small  bird  which  I  thought  was  an  olive-sided 
flycatcher.  As  this  bird  had  not  been  previ- 
ously noticed  in  that  locality,  its  presence  there 
on  this  occasion  was  a  matter  of  more  than 
ordinary  interest  to  me.  It  was  very  busy 
catching  insects  and  did  not  seem  to  notice 
my  approach.  It  was  perched  on  a  low- 
strung  telephone  wire  when  not  on  the  wing 
in  pursuit  of  a  bug  or  fly.  I  finally  obtained 
a  position  not  more  than  20  feet  from  the 
bird  without  disturbing  it  in  the  operation  of 
collecting  its  supper.  Thus  I  was  enabled  to 
determine  its  coloring,  the  size  of  its  bill,  and 
make  note  of  the  features  that  differentiated 
it  from  other  members  of  the  fly-catching 
family. 

Every  moment  or  two  it  would  spy  a  victim 
flying  in  the  air.  Sometimes  in  darting  or 
flying  to  oatch  the  bug  or  whatever  kind  of 
insect  it  might  be  it  would  go  a  distance  of  30 
feet  or  more.  I  could  not  see  the  victim  in 
its  flight;  the  bird's  eyesight  was  keener  than 
mine;  but  generally  I  could  see  the  capture, 
after  which  the  bird  would  fly  back  and  re- 
sume the  perch  on  the  wire.  It  was  most 
interesting  to  study  the  bird  while  it  was  on 
the  watch  for  the  coming  of  a  victim.  Its 
head  was  never  still,  as  it  was  continually  on 
the  lookout  for  game.  It  would  cock  its  head 
first  one  way,  then  another,  and  by  the  mo- 
tions it  was  plain  that  the  eyes  were  follow- 
ing the  flight  of  some  insect  well  up  in  the 
air,  or  some  bug  scouting  around  near  the 
ground  among  the  flowers.  It  was  not  only 
wonderfuly  sharp  in  eyesight  (no  human  eye 
could  equal  its  keenness  and  accuracy),  but  it 
was  exceedingly  clever  in  the  capture  of  its 
victims.     It  seldom  made  a  miss. 

Finally  it  made  a  change  in  its  perch  from 
the  telephone  wire  to  the  top  of  a  tall  flower- 
stake  driven  into  the  ground  about  six  feet 
from  where  I  stood.  This  move  on  the  part  of 
the  bird  improved  my  opportunity  for  the 
study  of  it  and  watching  its  movements  when 
in  flight  for  an  insect.  The  bird  made  several 
flights  from  the  new  perch  and  on  one  flight 
it  did  not  return  to  the  stake  top  but  made 
another  change  of  perch.  This  time  it  selected 
me,  for  it  lit  on  top  of  my  head,  or,  to  be 
exact,  on  top  of  my  hat.  I  remained  as  quiet 
as  possible.  The  visitor  made  one  excursion 
from  this  perch  and  returned  as  was  its  cus- 
tom at  the  other  perches.  I  called  to  one  of 
the  gardeners  to  witness  the  novel  sight.    The 


sound  of  my  voice  did  not  seem  to  frighten  or 
disturb  the  bird,  for  it  remained  on  my  hat 
while  I  talked  to  the  man.  However,  as  soon 
as  I  moved  the  bird  darted  away  like  a  flash 
and  that  was  the  last  I  saw  of  it. 

This  is  the  second  experience  I  have  en- 
joyed in  having  a  bird  use  my  person  as  a 
perching  place.  The  other  happened  a  few 
seasons  ago  near  Pleasanton.  One  forenoon 
I  went  out  and  took  a  seat  under  the  shade 
of  a  tree  near  some  heavy  underbrush  and 
while  reading,  with  my  legs  crossed,  a  little 
California  Creeper  flew  down  from  the  tree 
and  lit  on  the  toe  of  my  shoe.  I  recognized 
the  little  chap  as  a  member  of  the  Creeper 
family,  something  of  a  stranger  in  these  parts, 
never  having  seen  more  than  one  or  two  speci- 
mens of  this  particular  species  before  and 
none  since.  I  remained  perfectly  quiet  so  not 
to  alarm  it,  full  of  wonderment  at  its  famil- 
iarity and  curiosity  as  to  what  it  was  in  search 
of  there.  After  eyeing  me  for  a  few  seconds, 
cocking  its  head  first  one  way,  then  another, 
it  flew  to  my  right  shoulder,  then  ran  around 
my  neck  to  the  other  shoulder.  The  inspection 
of  my  clothes  seemed  to  have  much  interest 
for  it.  After  leaving  my  shoulders  it  visited 
nearly  every  part  of  my  body  and  limbs,  run- 
ning up  and  down,  over  and  under,  as  is  the 
habit  of  the  bird  when  working  around  tree 
trunks  and  limbs.  After  a  most  thorough 
inspection  of  my  clothes  it  flew  off  a  short 
distance,  but  remained  on  the  new  perch 
for  a  few  seconds  only  when  it  returned  to  a 
position  on  my  foot  once  more,  from  whence  it 
made  another  extended  trip  over  and  around 
my  legs  and  body;  then  departed  to  be  seen 
no  more.  The  acquaintance  was  short  and  I 
was  sorry  to  have  it  end  so  soon.  I  have 
often  wondered  when  thinking  of  the  inci- 
dent why  this  particular  bird  should  have 
had  no  fear  of  me.  Was  it  for  the  reason 
that  it  was  of  the  migratory  class  and  came 
from  a  wild  section  of  country  where  there 
were  no  human  enemies  to  teach  it  to  avoid 
as  dangerous  all  forms  of  the  so-called  higher 
order  of  life?  Or  did  the  bird  by  reason  of 
youth  and  inexperience  just  fail  to  recognize 
in  me  the  form  of  a  common  and  dangerous 
enemy? 

In  front  of  the  window  of  my  "den"  where 
I  spend  considerable  time  when  in  Piedmont 
I  have  a  place  where  I  feed  the  wild  birds. 
The  arrangement  is  such  that  the  birds,  when 
they  come  to  the  place,  are  so  near  to  me  I 
could  put  my  hand  on  them  if  they  would 
submit  to  it.     So  I  have  opportunity  to  watch 


46 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


the  birds  and  study  their  peculiarities  at  close 
range.  One  thing  in  particular  has  impressed 
me  while  making  these  observation,  and  that 
is  the  variation  in  dispositions  among  the 
birds  of  the  same  species,  or  kind.  Some  are 
very  timid,  some  are  quite  gentle  and  not 
easily  alarmed,  and  some  are  bold  and  aggres- 
sive. The  regular  patrons  of  the  "free  lunch 
table"  are  English  sparrows.  Towhees,  White 
and  Golden  crowned  sparrows,  Juncoes  and 
Heermann  Song  Sparrows.  Although  the  House 
Finches,  or  Linnets,  were  numerous  about  the 
place,  for  a  long  time,  or  to  be  more  precise, 
two  years,  they  seemed  to  be  above  being 
seen  in  the  "bread  line,"  but  they  now  are 
my  most  numerous  visitors  and  freely  par- 
take of  the  seeds  daily  thrown  out  for  the 
birds. 

In  watching  the  actions  and  behavior  of 
the  birds  another  thing  struck  me  as  worthy 
of  note,  and  that  was  the  independence,  cour- 
age and  fighting  qualities  of  the  little  Song 
sparrow.  Time  and  time  again  I  have  seen 
this  smallest  of  all  my  visitors  drive  intrud- 
ing members  of  the  other  sparrow  families 
away.  Once  I  saw  it  put  to  flight  five  English 
sparrows.  It  does  not  seem  to  hold  the  same 
degree  of  enmity  toward  the  White  crowned, 
but  does  not  hesitate  to  attack  them  whenever 
its  part  of  the  feast  is  encroached  upon.  Of 
course,  the  bigger  Towhee  is  the  bully  about 
the  table.     He  lords  it  over  all  present. 

The  English  sparrow  has  the  reputation  of 
being  most  selfish  and  pugnacious — qualities 
which  he  is  credited  with  manifesting  in  a 
shameful  way,  making  life  so  unpleasant  for 
other  bird  people  that  they  leave  the  terri- 
tory frequented  by  the  foreigners.  I  am  sure 
I  held  this  opinin,  not  from  observation,  how- 
ever, but  from  the  numerous  newspaper 
squibs  aimed  at  the  bird.  Now  I  must  say 
that  from  what  I  have  seen  from  my  window 
the  English  sparrow  has  been  maligned.  While 
he  may  be  properly  classed  among  the 
"undesirables"  on  account  of  his  queer  appear- 


ance, his  disagreeable  voice  and  his  flocking 
habits,  he  is  as  well-behaved  as  the  other  vis- 
itors here,  all  of  whom  make  him  stand  back 
from  the  desirable  feeding  spots.  This  being 
so,  why  should  he  be  accused  of  driving  other 
birds  out  of  a  locality?  Other  birds  do  go 
and  come.  White  crowned  sparrows  were 
constantly  around  our  premises  every  day  for 
more  than  two  years.  Subsequently  every  last 
one  disappeared,  but  after  an  absence  of  a  few 
months  they  returned  in  smaller  numbers.  I 
would  be  surprised  if  other  and  better  reasons 
than  the  English  sparrows  could  not  be  found 
to  account  for  the  disappearance  of  certain 
species  of  birds  from  localities  where  they  had 
been   commonly   noted. 

The  "free  lunch  table"  in  front  of  my  win- 
dow is  supplied  with  bird  seed  only.  There  is 
no  tablecloth  supplied.  The  food  is  just  scat- 
tered on  the  ground  over  the  area  of  several 
feet,  so  as  to  give  the  weaker  birds  a  chance. 
While  the  seed  remains  on  top  of  the  ground 
it  is  easy  work  for  all  of  the  visitors,  but  in  a 
little  while  there  is  nothing  left  but  what  is 
down  among  the  clods  or  has  been  covered 
with  earth  by  the  birds  hopping  about.  Then 
the  place  has  no  further  attraction  for  the 
White  crowned  and  Song  sparrows.  They  ap- 
pear to  be  poor  scratchers.  But  with  the 
Towhee  scratching  is  its  strong  forte.  I  have 
had  them  dig  up  every  single  garden  pea  in  a 
bed  where  the  seed  had  been  planted  two 
inches  deep,  and  not  a  seed  pea  had  been  left 
on  top  of  the  ground  to  advertise  the  plant- 
ing. And  they  did  not  dig  or  scratch  indis- 
criminately like  a  hen,  either,  but  went  right 
down  the  rows  without  missing  a  seed.  The 
English  sparrow  does  not  leave  the  lunch 
table,  because  he  is  compelled  to  exert  him- 
self to  some  extent.  But  he  does  not  scratch — 
he  noses  the  vagrant  seeds  from  among  the 
clods  and  dirt  with  his  beak.  The  way  he 
makes  the  dirt  fly  with  that  bill  would  put  to 
shame  some  shovelers  I  have  seen  employed 
on  public  work. 


CARPENTER    BEE — NATURAL    SIZE. 


CHAPTER  VI 


CARPENTER  BEES 

Wise  Insects  that  can  Work  in  Wood,  but  Avoid  Hard  Labor  When 

Circumstances  Permit 


A  large  bee  common  to  California,  if  not  to 
the  Coast,  called  the  Carpenter  bee  was  fre- 
quently seen  about  our  garden  at  Diablo  in 
July  and  August.  This  insect  might  be  taken 
for  a  large  bumble  bee,  for  it  has  much  the 
same  form  and  general  appearance,  though 
in  color  it  is  wholly  black  without  the  yellow 
markings  that  distinguish  the  various  species 
of  the  bumble  bee.  This  statement,  however, 
should  be  qualified,  for  while  the  female  Car- 
penters are  all  black,  the  males  of  at  least 
one  species  are  wholly  yellow  in  color  and 
there  is  a  large  species  found  on  the  Atlantic 
side  of  the  continent  that  is  marked  with  a 
yellow   thorax. 

These  large  bees  were  given  the  name  of 
Carpenter  from  the  fact  they  bore  holes  in 
dead  wood  of  various  kinds  in  which  to  nest. 

At  Palm  Springs,  in  the  desert  section  of 
the  southern  part  of  California,  the  largest 
known  species  of  Carpenter  bee,  or  member 
of  the  Xylocopa  family,  is  quite  common; 
holes  in  logs,  fence  posts  and  other  dead 
wood,  into  which  a  person  could  insert  a 
finger,  made  by  these  bees  are  frequently 
seen.  While  there  is  little  or  no  trouble  in 
finding  a  black  female,  it  is  not  so  easy  a 
matter  to  find,  or  see,  one  of  the  big  yellow 
males.  They  are  not  only  swift  in  flight  but 
shy,  consequently  they  are  not  easily  cap- 
tured. These  southern  bees  are  about  an  inch 
in  length  with  a  wing  spread  of  nearly  two 
inches.  The  holes  they  make  for  their  nests 
are  sometimes  as  much  as  a  foot  deep  and 
are  always  made  in  dry  wood;  never  in  green 
or  wet  wood.  In  the  farther  part  they  make 
lateral  cells  for  the  accommodation  of  their 
young. 

There  is  a  very  small  member  of  the  Car- 
penter genus  which  is  only  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  in  length.  This  dainty  little  bee  is 
known  as  Ceratina  dupja  and  is  of  a  metallic 
blue  color.  It  makes  borings  into  pithy  twigs 
for  the  nests,  removing  the  pith  and  making 
a  series  of  cells  one  on  top  of  the  other.  Into 
each  cell  an  egg  is  laid  on  a  supply  of  pollen 
for  the  larva  when  hatched.  Observers  of 
the  work  of  this  little  insect  say  it  is  one  of 
the  very  few  insects  that  seems  to  have  any 
interest  in  the  maturing  of  its  young.  The 
mother  remains  with  the  nest  until  the  brood 
reaches  maturity,  when  she  "leads  forth  her 
full-fledged  family  in  a  flight  into  the 
sunshine." 

The  large  Carpenter  bees  that  visited  our 
parden  at  Diablo  were  a  trifle  smaller  than 
the    big   fellows    of   the   southern    part    of   the 


state.  The  only  specimens  of  the  species  that 
I  saw  about  Diablo  during  the  summer  were 
those  that  came  to  the  Salvia  blossoms.  At 
almost  any  time  of  the  day  between  the  hours 
of  10  a.  m.  and  3  p.  m.  from  one  to  five  of 
these  bees  could  be  seen  working  around  the 
base  of  the  flowers  of  the  Salvia  plants.  They 
visited  no  other  flowers  in  the  garden,  though 
there  were  many  other  kinds  which  were  at- 
tractions for  numerous  other  species  of  bees 
and  members  of  the  wasp  family. 

The  operations  of  the  Carpenter  bees  at  the 
base  of  the  flowers  and  on  the  outside  part 
attracted  my  attention,  and  I  found  upon  in- 
vestigation that  they  were  making  holes 
through  that  part  of  the  flower  in  order  to 
insert  their  tongue-like  process  and  reach  the 
nectar  of  the  blossom.  The  long,  narrow 
flower  would  not  admit  of  the  entrance  of  the 
bulky  form  of  the  bees  so  they  could  obtain 
the  honey  in  the  usual  way  from  the  inside; 
but  the  Carpenters  were  not  to  be  denied  the 
sweets  of  the  Salvia.  With  the  sharp  tools 
used  in  boring  holes  in  wood  it  was  a  simple 
matter  to  perforate  the  soft  petal  substance 
of  the  flower.  The  question  arises,  was  the 
change  of  method  of  securing  the  nectar  in 
the  flowers  instinctive  or  the  manifestation  of 
reasoning  power?  Of  course,  no  one  knows. 
We  can  only  apply  our  own  reasoning  power 
to  the  facts  and  draw  conclusions.  Those  who 
can  not  concede  any  degree  of  mind  action 
to  the  lower  forms  of  life  will  insist  that  in- 
stinct alone  supplied  the  impulse  underlying 
the  action,  while  others  who  think  nature  gives 
brain  tissues  to  all  forms  of  life  for  a  like 
purpose  will  conclude  that  it  is  more  logical 
to  accept  a  seeming  rational  act  as  the  result 
of  something  akin  to  what  we  call  mental 
operation  in  humans. 

Perhaps  in  the  distant  future  when  the 
mind  of  man  becomes  more  potent  and  is  able 
to  delve  deeper  into  the  mysteries  of  nature, 
with  a  greater  knowledge  and  understanding 
of  the  cells,  tissue  and  organs  of  all  forms  of 
life,  the  mooted  question  will  be  given  a  solu- 
tion acceptable   to  all  students  of  nature. 

On  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  Deerwood,  a 
country  retreat  of  ours  in  Mendocino 
county,  I  found  the  same  species  of  Carpenter 
bee  as  that  last  mentioned  numerously  repre- 
sented about  the  grounds  of  a  summer  home 
there.  While  observing  their  operations  I 
noticed  that  all  the  holes  made  by  the  bees 
were  uniformly  in  the  softest  wood  to  be  found 
about  the  place,  and  their  work  showed  that 
they  were  not   only  able  to  pick   out  the  soft 


48 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


z»mW^tt 


•rJM 


$£ 


DEAD    TREE    STUMP    SHOWING    OCCUPANCY    BY    CARPENTER    BEES. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


49 


from  the  harder  wood,  but  were  able  to  recog- 
nize and  select  the  softest  part  of  such  wood 
in   which   to   operate. 

Unlike  the  hive  or  domestic  honey  bees, 
with  their  queens,  workers  and  drones,  there 
are  only  male  and  female  Carpenters;  and 
unlike  the  bumble  bees,  of  which  only  the 
females  survive  the  year,  both  male  and  female 
Carpenters  hibernate  during  the  winter  and 
come  forth  in  the  spring  and  prepare  for  new 
families.  However,  it  is  the  female  that  does 
all  the  work.  She  selects  the  places  and  bores 
the  holes  in  the  dry  timber  and  makes  the 
tunnels  therein  as  well  as  the  cells  for  the 
baby  bees.  She,  too,  alone  gathers  the  pollen 
and  nectar  from  flowers  to  store  in  the  cells 
as  food  for  the  babies  when  hatched.  I 
watched  the  actions  of  male  bees  for  hours 
and  about  the  only  activity  they  engaged  in 
was  hovering  around  flowering  shrubs,  main- 
taining, as  a  rule,  a  distance  of  about  20  inches 
from  the  blossoms  and  engaging  in  combats 
with  other  male  bees  of  the  species  when  they 
came  around.  Females  were  allowed  to  go  to 
the  flowers  without  much  interference.  The 
males  would  dive  at  them  once  in  a  while  but 
would  not  follow  them  up  and  exhibit  the 
vicious  disposition  manifest  in  their  rushes  at 
other  intruding  male  Carpenters.  I  could 
only  reconcile  these  actions  as  being  their 
manner  of  mating,  considering  the  good  sense 
and  sound  judgment  these  insects  showed  in 
other  habits. 

As  stated  there  were  quite  a  large  number 
of  bees  of  the  species  about  our  place,  consid- 
ering the  fact  that  this  family  of  bees  is  not 
large.  Sometimes  as  many  as  a  half-dozen 
females  could  be  seen  flying  about  the  porch 
examining  the  dry  timber  of  its  construction, 
and  as  many,  or  more,  could  be  seen  working 
among  the  flowers.  And  more  females  than 
males  were  always  in  evidence.  I  found  no 
small  interest  in  following  the  female  bees 
while  they  were  in  search  of  a  nesting  place. 
Perhaps  I  should  have  first  stated  that  the 
bees  do  not  excavate  new  holes  other  than 
when  compelled  by  force  of  circumstance, 
but  use  the  old  holes  over  and  over.  In  fact, 
I  did  not  see  them  make  a  single  new  hole. 
Up  to  the  time  I  left  the  bees  seemed  to  be 
able  to  find  excavations  made  by  previous 
generations  and  old  auger  holes  in  posts  in 
sufficient  number  to  supply  all  their  require- 
ments. As  an  example  of  the  thoroughness 
of  their  search  for  apartments  to  save  the 
labor  of  construction  I  will  mention  the  ac- 
tions of  one  female.  She  commenced  at  one 
end  of  the  porch  on  the  south  side  of  the 
house  and  passed  along  examining  each  post 
from  top  to  bottom  on  all  sides,  not  overlook- 
ing the  rail  fastened  to  the  posts  under  the 
eaves  of  the  porch,  as  well  as  taking  an  oc- 
casional trip  to  scrutinize  the  boards  of  the 
underside    of    the    roofing.       She    did    all    this 


work  mainly  on  the  wing,  stopping  once  in  a 
while  to  give  closer  inspection  of  some  de- 
pression in  the  wood.  Similar  inspections  by 
other  Carpenter  bees  were  constantly  going  on 
about  the  premises  during  the  warm  hours  of 
the  day. 

There  were  a  number  of  bee  holes  about 
the  place,  but  none  of  them  showed  any  indi- 
cations of  having  been  made  this  season, 
though  in  one  case  the  inmates  gave  some 
time  to  enlarging  an  excavation  or  extending 
the  tunnel;  chips  and  fine  particles  of  wood 
were  occasionally  ejected  from  the  hole.  In 
one  instance  I  saw  a  bee,  after  hunting  some 
time  for  an  apartment,  stop  on  a  dry  board 
and  start  to  bore  a  hole.  She  made  slow  head- 
way and  after  working  four  or  five  minutes 
she  abandoned  the  work.  In  that  time  she 
had  excavated  a  place  less  than  a  thirty- 
second  of  an  inch  in  depth  and  in  circumfer- 
ence but  little  larger  than  her  head. 

All  the  old  holes  seemed  to  be  occupied  by 
the  early-comers  and  the  inmates  were  busy 
carrying  pollen  and  nectar  into  them.  When 
the  late-comers,  in  their  search  for  quarters, 
would  come  across  one  of  the  holes,  which  by 
the  way  was  a  matter  of  frequent  occurrence, 
they  would  generally  stop  and  go  part  way 
in  as  if  to  inquire  "Is  this  place  occupied?" 
Finding  it  tenanted,  they  would  back  out  and 
continue    their   search. 

At  evening  time,  when  the  air  begins  to 
chill  with  the  disappearance  of  the  sun,  the 
bees  that  had  nests,  or  holes,  retired  to  them. 
The  females  not  yet  supplied  with  such  quar- 
ters, together  with  the  males,  seek  a  cavity  of 
such  form  as  will  afford  them  protection  for 
the  night.  In  a  large  redwood  post  standing 
in  the  rear  of  our  place  there  had  been  bored 
through  it  two  holes  five-eighths  of  an  inch 
in  diameter.  These  holes  were  popular  places 
of  resort  for  the  night.  It  was  surprising  to 
see  the  number  of  big  bees  that  would  crowd 
into  one  of  the  holes.  As  the  holes  were  bored 
through  the  post  the  bees  made  use  of  the 
double  entrance  to  the  lodging  house.  They 
would  crowd  in  until  the  unique  apartment 
was  filled  to  the  doorways. 

This  particular  Carpenter  bee  enjoys  a  wide 
range  of  habitation,  especially  in  the  way  of 
elevation.  I  found  the  bees  active  in  their 
nesting  operations  at  several  places  on  the 
floor  of  Yosemite  Valley  in  the  earily  part  of 
June.  There  the  elevation  above  sea  level  is 
about  4000  feet,  while  the  elevation  at  Diablo 
does  not  exceed  500  feet,  and  that  of  Deer- 
wood  1200  feet.  The  snow,  frost  and  ice  that 
occupies  the  v famous  valley  during  the  winter 
months,  which  is  not  experienced  at  the  other 
places,  does  not  appear  to  have  any  influence 
in  shaping  the  life  history  of  the  bees  there 
differently  from  that  of  their  relatives  which 
pass  their  lives  nearer  the  sea  level  in  a  much 
warmer  winter  climate. 


50 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


DEERWOOD. 


CHAPTER  VII 


IN  THE  WILDS  OF  MENDOCINO 

A  Retreat  in  the  Redwoods.     Its  Birds  and  other  Animal  Life, 
of  Peculiar  Habits  of  Bees  and  other  Insects 


Details 


Deerwood  is  tne  name  we  gave  to  a  little 
country  place,  belonging  to  a  member  of  my 
family,  located  in  Mendocino  county,  twenty 
miles  or  so  northwesterly  from  Cloverdale,  in 
the  world-famed  redwood  belt  of  California. 
The  location  is  made  more  attractive  by 
reason  of  its  situation  on  the  banks  of  that 
beautiful  stream  known  to  trout  fishermen 
throughout  the  country  as  the  Rancheria.  The 
property  embraces  a  broad  but  short  canyon 
opening  into  the  narrow  valley  or  canyon  of 
the  Rancheria.  With  its  gentle  sloping  sides 
it  is  suggestive  of  a  grand  and  huge  amphi- 
theater covering  between  eight  and  ten  acres 
in  area.  The  greater  part, of  the  floor  is  under 
cultivation  and  dotted  with  trees  that  in  their 
seasons  supply  us  with  the  most  perfect  and 
delicious  fruits.  On  three  sides — south,  west 
and  north — the  towering  wall  of  the  redwood 
and  fir  forest  forms  the  margin  of  our  nook 
and  not  only  lends  a  feature  of  grandeur  to 
the  site  but  by  its  protecting  height  shelters 
us  from  the  severities  of  strong  winds.  Our 
amphitheater  with  its  open  side  to  the  east 
gives  us  a  vista  up  the  main  canyon  for  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  or  two  until  obstructed  by  the 
densely-wooded  mountain  range  whose  steep 
sides  form  the  east  side  of  the  canyon  of  the 
Rancheria.  The  dwelling  we  occupy  upon  our 
occasional  visits  to  Deerwood  is  situated  on 
the  elevation  of  the  back  part  of  the  amphi- 
theater, affording  us  an  advantageous  point 
from  which  to  enjoy  this  beautiful  landscape, 
embracing  numerous  representatives  of  the 
trees  famed  in  the  flora  of  California  —  the 
oaks,  white,  black  and  the  evergreen;  the 
shapely  laurel,  the  handsome  madrone,  maple, 
ash,  and  alders.  The  view  is  varied  by  open 
sections  of  green  carpeted  spots,  enlivened  at 
times  by  the  presence  of  cattle  or  sheep  and 
not  unfrequently  by  deer.  Besides  there  is  a 
glimpse  of  the  running  waters  of  the  Ranch- 
eria, its  gravely  bed  and  willow-lined  banks, 
to  add  to  the  charm  of  the  picture. 

When  I  contemplate  the  beauty  and  varied 
quantity  of  wild  flowers  and  ferns  to  be  found 
here  together  with  the  great  number  of  birds, 
including  the  sweetest  songsters  whose  de- 
lightful music  fills  the  air  from  the  first  break 
of  day  to  twilight,  and  numerous  other  forms 
of  life  whose  habits  and  characters  make  a 
study  that  widens  our  vision  of  things  and 
opens  the  doors  to  some  of  the  wonders  of 
Nature.  I  feel  as  if  this  was  one  of  the  spots 
where  the  Almighty  ruler  of  the  universe  had 
chosen    for   an    earthly   temple   wherein    there 


was  gathered  in  the  springtime  of  the  year 
examples  of  His  most  beauteous  work,  for  the 
people  who  find  pleasure  in  association  with 
them,  as  well  as  for  the  education  of  students 
of  Nature  who  would  know  more  of  His  laws, 
the  knowledge  of  which  gives  a  fuller  insight 
of  the  purpose  and  utility  of  all  organic  life 
and  of  those  relations  that  make  for  the  better- 
ment  and   greater   comfort   of   all   mankind. 

It  was  in  this  environment  that  I  passed 
two  weeks  and  more  of  the  latter  part  of  April 
and  the  first  of  May,  and  I  now  propose  to 
relate  some  of  the  things  that  came  uder  my 
observation  that  interested  me  and  may  pos- 
sibly be  a   source   of  interest  to  others. 

In  our  amphitheater  were  more  birds  than 
could  be  found  in  any  neighboring  sections. 
In  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  I  noted 
twenty-six  different  species.  The  greater  part 
of  this  number  were  observed  from  my  com- 
fortable seat  on  the  porch  of  our  dwelling. 
No  doubt  I  could  have  increased  the  list  if  I 
had  given  the  time  for  search  among  the 
trees  and  undergrowth  of  the  grounds  for  the 
more  shy  kinds.  The  popularity  of  the  place 
with  the  bird  life  was  probably  due  to  the  fact 
there  were  less  of  their  natural  enemies  in 
the  area  occupied  by  the  house  and  orchard, 
the  greater  amount  of  sunlight  in  the  opening 
(much  of  surrounding  country  being  densely 
wooded),  and  the  greater  abundace  of  food 
in  the  way  of  seeds  and  insects. 

The  list  of  birds  included  a  majority  of  the 
best  songsters  we  have  in  our  state  and  while 
daylight  lasted  their  sweet,  joyous  and  musical 
voices  could  be  heard  at  all  times,  but  it  was 
in  early  morning  and  at  the  close  of  day  that 
the  singers  seemed  inspired  to  fill  the  hour 
with  their  best  and  most  choice  selections. 
Especially  was  this  so  in  the  evenings  when 
the  grossbeaks  perched  on  the  topmost 
branches  of  the  trees,  the  linnets  about  the 
house,  the  little  wrens  in  the  rosebushes, 
song  sparrows  in  the  willows  nearby,  orioles 
in  the  treetops,  and  the  russet-back  thrush 
in  a  neighboring  canyon,  were  the  principals 
in  these  grand  concerts,  most  delightful  to 
the   ear   and   soul-inspiring. 

This  was  the  height  of  the  nesting  season, 
when  the  birds  were  mating  and  building  their 
nests,  adding  further  interest  in  the  activities 
of  our  feathered  neighbors  and  associates,  for 
they  were  about  us  and  with  us  all  day  long 
and  day  after  day.  The  other  morning  a  little 
coon-faced  chickadee  flew  onto  our  porch  and 
was  hopping  about  in  search  of  nesting  mate- 


52 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


4 

H 
H 

Q 

tf 
H 
H 

« 
w 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


53 


rial,  picking  and  pulling  everything  that 
might  yield  a  thread.  In  the  course  of  its 
search  it  came  within  two  feet  of  my  position, 
showing  no  fear  in  it  sanxiety  to  find  just 
what  was  wanted  or  needed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  its  nest.  The  next  day  it  made  a  visit 
in  as  familiar  manner  to  the  kitchen  part  of 
our  premises,  where  it  was  more  successful 
in  its  search  for  strings.  Its  squeaky,  little 
chirps  in  keeping  with  its  diminutive  size 
seemed  like  notes  of  joy  and  contentment. 

Two  pair  of  wrens  were  nesting  nearby.  One 
pair  occupied  a  hole  in  an  oak  tree  that  shaded 
the  house.  The  location  of  the  other  pair  I 
was  not  able  to  discover.  One  of  these  couple 
had  selected  the  fire-box  of  our  cooking  stove 
before  our  arrival  and  had  a  nest  well  along 
in  its  construction  when  our  necessities  com- 
pelled them  to  seek  another  location.  The 
stove's  place  is  on  the  back  porch  and  the 
little  birds  found  entrance  by  the  hole  made 
for  the  pipe  of  the  "waterback,"  removed 
when  the  stove  left  civilization.  This  species 
of  wren  is  known  in  ornithology  as  the  "Vigor 
wren,  Thryomanes  bewicki  spilurus.  They  are 
restless  little  creatures,  and  can  be  seen  and 
heard  singing  about  the  house  at  any  hour  of 
the  day. 

For  several  days  a  black-throated  gray 
•  warbler  (Dendroica  nigrescence),  a  bird  some- 
what smaller  than  the  wren,  with  not  quite 
so  long  a  foreign  name,  was  a  common  vis- 
itor to  our  front  yard,  where  it  gathered  mate- 
rial for  its  nest.  After  securing  the  particular 
thing  it  wanted  it  would  fly  to  a  scrub  oak 
about  ten  yards  away.  Consequently  I  con- 
cluded there  was  where  I  would  find  the  nest 
if  I  wished  to  inspect  it  later  on.  But  subse- 
quently I  discovered  that  the  flight  to  the  oak 
was  deceptive;  that  the  bird  went  out  on  the 
opposite  side  and  then  flew  to  a  thick  man- 
zanita  bush  where  it  had  built  its  nest.  This 
bush  was  so  located  on  one  side  that  a  direct 
flight  to  it  from  our  front  yard  was  but  a 
few  feet  more  distant  than  the  flight  to  the 
oak.  I  leave  it  to  the  reader  to  determine 
whether  or  not  the  warbler  in  taking  the 
course  it  did  was  not  trying  to  conceal  the 
location    of   its   nest-building   operations. 

While  the  linnets,  or  redheads,  were  among 
our  most  numerous  visitors,  I  noticed  only 
one  nest  and  that  was  in  the  attic  of  our 
house.  The  nest  was  built  in  one  of  the  rooms 
where  a  corner  of  heavy  wall  paper  was  torn 
away  from  the  wall,  making  a  projection  and 
support.  As  this  part  of  the  dwelling  was  not 
used  or  occupied  by  our  family  we  did  not 
dispute  the  bird's  preemption  of  the  premises 
but  left  it  to  rear  its  family  in  peace  and 
the  security  from  natural  enemies  the  spot 
afforded.  How  did  the  bird  enter  this  part  of 
the  house?  Ths  was  the  first  thing  that  came 
into  my  mind  when  I  discovered  the  nest. 
Upon  looking  around  I  saw  a  pane  of  glass 
missing  in  one  of  the  windows.  Subsequently 
I  saw  the  linnet  make  use  of  the  opening. 

At  no  other  place  in  the  state  did  I  ever 
see  so  many  grosbeaks  as  were  to  be  seen  at 
this  time  in  and  about  our  amphitheater.  As 
mentioned    elsewhere    their    melodious    warb- 


lings,  trillings  and  whistlings  were  to  be  heard 
from  morning  until  night  and  were  so  musical 
and  sweet  that  it  never  became  tiresome. 
There  was  one  singer  that  spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  on  the  topmost  branches  of  a 
large  madrone  tree  not  more  than  sixty  yards 
from  the  house,  that  seemed  to  be  a  superior 
songster.  He  possessed  a  greater  range  of 
changes  in  his  song  and  his  execution  of  trill- 
ing and  soft  whistling  notes,  in  which  he  in- 
dulged more  at  evening  time,  was  not  equaled 
by  any  of  the  other  singers  occupying  other 
tree  tops  thereabouts.  This  fine  singer  was  one 
of  a  pair  building  a  nest  in  a  young  oak 
tree  near  the  house.  However,  it  was  the  lady 
of  the  household,  as  in  some  families  of 
the  highest  order  of  life,  who  was  doing  all  the 
work  of  constructing  the  nest.  If  the  male 
member  had  contributed  a  straw,  twig,  string 
or  anything  for  the  cradle  the  mother  re- 
quired for  her  babies,  the  act  was  not  wit- 
nessed. If  he  had  done  so  perhaps  we  should 
have  been  denied  the  pleasure  of  much  of  his 
song.  In  his  own  defense  he  would  have  prob- 
ably declared  he  could  not  render  classical 
music  and  work  at  the  same  time. 

A  valley  quail  selected  a  place  within  60 
feet  of  our  back  gate  for  her  nest.  Under  a 
bunch  of  dry  grass,  that  would  not  ordinarily 
attract  attention,  she  had  shaped  a  place  to 
hold  her  brood  of  eggs.  When  we  first  dis- 
covered the  nest  by  nearly  stepping  on  the 
bird  only  one  egg  was  in  it.  But  nearly  every 
day  the  mother  bird  returned  to  the  nest  and 
deposited  an  egg  and  on  the  day  of  our  de- 
parture for  home  there  were  six  eggs  in  it. 
The  call  the  mountain  quail  makes  in  the 
mating  season  was  frequently  heard  by  us  from 
the  adjacent  woods  surrounding  our  place, 
but  the  birds  are  so  shy  that  we  have  seen  but 
one  pair,  though  from  the  noise  they  made 
one  would  think  the  "woods  were  full  of 
them." 

Enumeration  of  the  species  of  birds  to  be 
found  here  will  vary  but  little  from  the  cen- 
sus of  bird  life  of  other  wooded  parts  of 
Central  California.  I  misse'd  here  the  presence 
of  the  mocking  bird  that  I  have  seen  on  the 
Pleasanton  ridge,  Alameda  county;  on  Mt. 
Diablo,  and  in  northern  Mendocino;  also  some 
of  the  warblers  and  sparrows  common  to  the 
first  two  districts  mentioned.  But  what  we 
lacked  in  variety  was  made  up  by  quantity. 

Of  the  four-footed  forms  of  animal  life 
common  to  this  section  deer  were  formerly 
most  prominent.  Up  to  three  or  four  years 
ago  one  could  not  go  more  than  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  in  any  direction  from  our  place 
without  expecting  to  come  across  one  or  more 
of  these  beautiful  animals.  But  now  the  auto- 
mobiles having  made  all  distant  hunting 
grounds  more  accessible  and  with  the  greater 
number  of  hunters  by  reason  of  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  the  population  of  the  state,  the 
number  of  deer  has  been  greatly  reduced,  also 
the  possibility  of  seeing  one  in  our  rambles. 
Though  one  day  on  this  trip  while  out  whip- 
ping the  Rancheria  for  a  mess  of  trout  a  doe 
and  yearling  came  down  into  the  bed  of  the 
stream    and    stood    for   some   little   time   on    a 


54 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


HOUSE    AT    DEERWOOD. 


TUMBLE    BUG     ROLLING     ITS     PILL. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


55 


gravel  bar  about  60  feet  away.  As  long  as  I 
remained  motionless  they  gave  no  attention 
to  my  presence.  But  evidently  they  "sniffed 
danger,"  for  they  held  their  heads  high,  nerv- 
ously flipping  their  big  ears  and  looking  first 
one  way,  then  another.  However,  when  I 
made  the  first  step  they  were  off  like  a  flash, 
the  little  one  quickly  passing  the  mother,  into 
the   brush   that   hid   them   from   further  view. 

Another  time  while  fishing  on  this  same  ' 
stream  in  a  large  pool  made  dark  by  over- 
hanging treetops  I  saw  a  mink  come  down  the 
bank  on  the  opposite  side.  At  the  edge  of  the 
water  it  stopped  long  enough  to  look  around, 
and  then  to  my  great  astonishment  took  to 
the  water  and  swam  directly  towards  me.  As 
I  stood  in  the  margin  of  the  pool  when  the 
mink  landed  on  my  side  it  was  on  top  of  my 
right  foot  which  was  in  position  for  a  strong 
kick,  which  was  made  with  enough  force  to 
land  the  animal  half-way  across  the  pool,  into 
which  it  fell  with  a  splash.  In  all  probability 
the  spell  of  astonishment  was  transferred 
from  man  to  animal  by  the  act.  At  any  rate 
it  was  so  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  had 
come  into  sudden  contact  with  a  superior  force 
that  it  did  not  come  to  the  surface  of  the 
water  again  but  swam  like  a  fish  to  a  retreat 
on   the  other  side. 

The  handsome,  big,  bushy-tailed  gray 
squirrel  must,  like  so  many  other  forms  of 
life,  finds  this  place  well  adapted  to  its  needs 
and  comforts  for  the  species  is  well  repre- 
sented. On  warm  bright  days  it  was  no  trouble 
to  see  one.  In  fact  it  was  not  uncommon  to 
see  them  running  along  the  top  of  the  fence 
about  our  dwelling.  Their  friendly  visits  ex- 
tended even  to  the  roof  of  the  building.  One 
afternoon  while  sitting  on  the  porch  I  heard 
a  squirrel  on  the  roof  overhead.  I  whistled 
softly  and  it  soon  peered  down  at  me  over 
the  edge  of  the  roof.  Apparently  not  satisfied 
in  its  curiosity,  it  came  down  to  a  board 
fastened  to  the  porch  posts  about  six  feet 
above  my  head  and  after  full  inspection  of  me 
it  leisurely  hopped  along  the  entire  length  of 
the  board,  then  returned  to  the  roof.  I  think 
it  would  be  no  trouble  to  make  them  so  tame 
they  would  come  for  food  and  be  pets  about 
the   place. 

As  might  be  imagined  from  the  description 
of  the  country,  formerly  coons,  skunks  and 
other  objectionable  animals  were  also  very 
numerous  hereabouts,  but  the  very  high  price 
at  which  their  pelts  sold  during  the  last  year 
or  so  incited  every  man  and  boy  in  the 
country  to  trapping,  and  as  a  result  very  few 
of  these  animals  remain  to  represent  species 
once  so  common.  The  destruction  of  these 
animals,  especially  the  skunks,  will  in  all 
probability  be  of  advantage  to  brooding  quail, 
as  there  are  so  few  left  to  destroy  the  eggs 
or  the  young  birds  after  hatching.  Therefore 
there  should  be  a  corresponding  improvement 
in  the  numbers  of  these  handsome  game  birds. 
An  event  quail  hunters  will  hail  with  delight. 

In  the  matter  of  wild  flowers  I  know  of 
several  districts  of  the  coast  section  of  the 
State  where  a  greater  variety  prevail,  but  I 
know  of  no  place  where  native  flowers  that 
find   representation    grow   to     greater     perfec- 


tion and  beauty.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
the  iris,  which  is  to  be  seen  almost  every- 
where. The  creamy  white  species  Douglasiana. 
are  extra  large.  I  found  some  specimens 
that  measured  nearly  five  inches  across; 
four  and  a  quarter  inches  were  very  common. 
Great  clumps  of  varied  shades  of  the 
Macrosiphon  were  not  uncommon.  Beds  of 
baby-blue-eyes,  and  delicate  tinted  violets 
were  common  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  sen- 
timental lover  of  flowers. 

The  grass  covered  slope  ■  of  a  half  acre  or 
more  in  front  of  our  house  presented  a  beau- 
tiful sight  for  nearly  a  fortnight.  It  was 
mantled  by  a  mass  of  bright  yellow  poppies, 
blue-eyed-grass,  brodiaeas  and  other  flowers  of 
lesser  prominence.  The  effect  of  the  colors 
of  these  blossoms  was  suggestive  of  the  Blue 
and  Gold  of  our  university.  I  will  not  dwell 
longer  on  the  subject  of  flowers  other  than 
to  say  the  profusion  of  blossoms  had  at- 
tractions for  some  of  the  lower  orders  of  life 
as  well  as  for  the  highest.  The  flowers  to- 
gether with  the  warm  and  pleasant  weather 
brought  numbers  of  various  kind  of  insects 
and  it  is  of  the  doings  and  habits  of  some 
of  these  neighbors  I  propose  to  give  a  few 
interesting  details. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  bees,  for  their  life 
history,  generally  speaking,  is  inseparable 
from  flowers,  and  they  were  present  in  greater 
numbers  than  any  other  single  insect  family. 
Nearly  every  genus  of  the  Bee  family  was 
represented  in  our  amphitheater  from  the 
big,  burly  bumble  bee  to  the  most  diminutive 
form  of  Halicitidae,  not  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  length.  Of  course  the  bees  I 
am  writing  about  are  wild  bees.  I  never 
have  seen  a  beehive  in  this  section  of  country, 
but  hive  bees  that  have  gone  wild  are  quite 
numerous.  Though,  as  I  have  said,  that  bees 
of  nearly  all  kinds  that  are  common  to  this 
section  are  in  evidence  and  seemingly  very 
busy  in  their  employments,  very  few  of  their 
nearest  relatives,  the  wasps,  are  around  yet 
The  time  I  am  writing  about  is  the  last  of 
April;  in  another  month,  however,  the  wasp 
family  will  outnumber  the  bees. 

The  first  bees  to  attract  my  attention  on 
this  trip  were  the  big,  Carpenter  bees, 
Xylooopa.  In  the  United  States  there  are 
several  species  which  vary  in  size,  but  so  far 
as  I  can  learn  the  habits  of  all  are  much 
the  same.  The  females  of  the  two  large 
species  thaj;  I  have  seen  on  the  Coast  are  en- 
tirely black,  while  the  males  of  one  species 
are  all  yellow,  and  in  the  other  the 
males  have  only  a  yellowish  thorax  with 
black  abdomen.  The  former  of  these  are 
the  largest,  or  the  giants,  of  the  bee  family. 
These  I  saw  on  the  Colorado  desert.  It  was 
members  of  the  other  species  I  found  so 
numerous    here. 

In  tearing  down  a  small  structure  we 
found  a  3x3  split  redwood  post,  the  upper 
end  of  which*  for  a  distance  of  twelve  inches 
contained  several  holes  made  by  the  Carpen- 
ter bees.  I  cut  off  the  perforated  part  and 
split  it  open,  revealing  the  tunnels,  shafts 
and  raises,  connected  with  the  entrances 
bored   into  the  sides   of  the  post.     Prom   the 


56 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


BEE  TUNNELS. 
Sketch  to  represent  a  piece  of  split  redwood  post,  2  by  4  inches,  a  foot  in  length. 
No.  1  shows  the  stick  before  being  split  at  the  dotted  line,  with  the  entrance  hole  on 
that  side.  No.  2  shows  (in  black)  the  tunnels,  shafts  and  side  cells  made  by  the 
Carpenter  Bees,  from  the  entrance  shown  on  No.  1.  The  dotted  lines  indicate  other 
excavations  for  nests,  with  entrances  on  the  opposite  side  of  No.  1. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


57 


highest  to  the  lowest  part  of  this  internal 
work  the  measurement  was  almost  thirteen 
inches.  The  inside  excavations  were  all  con- 
nected, whether  by  accident  or  by  design, 
must  remain  a  matter  of  speculation  until  we 
have  some  evidence  that  will  settle  the  ques- 
tion. 

While  the  diameter  of  the  excavations  in 
the  post  justified  the  conclusion  that  the 
work  was  that  of  the  Carpenter  bees,  the 
foreign  material  found  in  a  section  of  one 
side  excavation  showed  that  Carpenter  bees 
were  not  the  only  kind  that  had  made 
use  of  a  portion  of  these  quarters  to  raise 
their  young.  In  a  cavity  exposed  by  the  split- 
ing  of  the  post  there  were  six  partitions  made 
of  clay  dividing  it  into  as  many  cells,  or 
rather  they  were  parts  of  partitions,  for  they 
had  been  broken  through  by  the  insects 
hatched  in  the  cells  after  reaching  the  stage 
of  maturity.  In  the  last  cell  I  found  the  re- 
mains of  two  small  black  bees.  There  was 
enough  of  the  desicated  bodies  of  the  insects 
left  to  enable  one  to  identify  the  remains  as 
being  those  of  bees  and  to  suggest  the  prob- 
ability that  they  were  of  a  genus  known  as 
Osmia,  which  is  quite  numerous  in  this  sec- 
tion of  our  State.  I  recovered  a  wing  in  per- 
fect form  and  an  examination  of  its  venation 
confirmed  the  conclusion  as  to  the  species.  It 
i3  also  characteristic  of  the  Osmia  to  utilize 
hollowed  out  places  made  by  other  agencies 
than  themselves  for  nesting  places.  How  they 
managed  to  pre-empt  a  section  of  the  Car- 
penter bees'  apartments  and  hold  it  against 
their  big,  overgrown  relatives  is  a  mystery. 
The  latter  may  have  tolerated  the  little 
bees,  or  possibly  the  last  mentioned  may  have 
occupied  the  place  late  in  the  season  when 
Carpenter  bees  were  not  using  it.  However 
it  may  have  been,  the  little  bees  showed  their 
disposition  to  avoid  hard  work  by  pre- 
empting the  old  cells.  When  there  are  no 
ready-made  places  for  nests  to  be  found  by 
the  small  bee  it  excavates  the  pith  from 
elderberry  bush  stems,  or  like  pithy  growths. 
The  desire  to  shun  the  work  of  excavating 
in  wood,  or  pith,  by  both  species  of  bees 
mentioned  is  hardly  reconcilable  with  the 
theory  of  those  writers  who  insist  that  such 
insects  act  only  under  the  impulse  of  instinct. 
Their  idea  is  that  nature  has  endowed  these 
lower  forms  of  life  with  an  instinct  that  im- 
pels them  to  perform  certain  acts  in  a  par- 
ticular way  at  certain  times,  filling  out  their 
cycle  of  life,  and  for  this  reason  they  can- 
not execute  any  of  the  requirements  in  their 
life  history  in  a  different  way.  According  to 
this  theory  the  Carpenter  bee  being  endowed 
with  instinct  that  directs  it  to  bore  holes  in 
dry  wood  for  nesting  it  would  be  expected 
that  these  bees  should  be  found  boring  holes 
for  the  purpose  instead  of  insidiously  hunt- 
ing for  a  hole  made  by  some  more  indus- 
trious bee,  or  other  agency,  the  year  or  years 
before,  an  act  that  seems  to  indicate  some 
reason  and  judgment  and  the  possession  of 
dislike  for  laborious  work,  a  disposition  so 
commonly  manifested  among  the  human 
kind. 


The  Osmia  according  to  Sharp  is  one  of 
the  most  important  genera  of  bees  in  Europe. 
The  famous  entomologist  of  France,  H. 
Fabre,  gives  much  space  to  the  doings  of 
these  bees  in  his  writings  so  popular  the 
world    over. 

Anthidium  is  the  name  of  another  small 
bee  noticed  at  Deerwood.  We  discovered  it 
while  in  the  very  act  that  has  given  it  the 
name  of  "wool  gatherer."  The  bees  were 
engaged  in  stripping  off  the  wooly  sub- 
stance, or  pubesence,  of  the  underside  of 
leaves  of  wormwood  plants.  It  was  very  in- 
teresting to  watch  them  in  the  operation  and 
note  the  thoroughness  and  dexterity  they 
showed  in  shaving  off  the  so-called  wool. 
The  insects  did  the  work  with  their  mandibles, 
which  are  broadened  on  the  ends  and  bear 
minute  saw-toothed  edges.  The  shaving 
was  rapidly  done  with  a  cleanness  and 
smoothness  that  would  excel  the  operations 
of  some  barbers.  The  wool  as  it  came  off  the 
leaves  was  tucked  under  the  chins  of  the  bees 
and  rolled  into  the  form  of  a  ball  and  held 
there  with  the  aid  of  the  fore  legs.  The 
shaving  operation  continued  until  a  bee 
gathered  a  bunch  as  large  as  a  small  buck- 
shot and  would  then  fly  away.  Some  obser- 
vers say  "this  wool  is  gathered  to  line  the  cells 
of  the  nests  they  make  in  excavations  made 
by  other  insects."  The  cells  made  one  on  top 
of  another  are  filled  with  pollen  and  honey 
for  food  for  the  larvae  when  hatched  from 
the  single  egg  deposited  in  each  cell.  We 
were  not  fortunate  enough  to  find  any  nest 
of  these  little  members  of  the   bee  family. 

However,  it  was  while  watching  the  actions 
of  some  bees  in  the  vicinity  of  the  operations 
of  the  Anthidiums  I  suddenly  discovered  that 
I  was  sitting  on  the  ground  in  the  very  midst 
of  a  whole  colony  of  bees,  finding  many 
more  nests  in  a  smaller  space  than  I  had  ever 
seen  before.  Fortunately  for  my  comfort 
the  bees  were  too  small  to  be  able  to  or  so 
mild  mannered  they  did  not,  resent  my  in- 
trusion into  the  place  of  their  habitation  in 
the  manner  so  painful  and  common  in  the 
actions  of  the  large  species  of  the  family  • 
under    like    circumstances. 

Soon  after  getting  down  on  the  ground  I 
saw  several  little  bees  flying  closely  about 
me,  but  being  among  some  wild  flowers  and 
grass  I  thought  these  were  the  attractions. 
Finally  I  became  interested  in  the  little  fel- 
lows and  concluded  to  watch  and  find  out  if 
possible  what  they  were  doing  there.  I  soon 
noticed  one  disappear  down  among  the  grass 
roots,  but  it  did  not  occur  to  me  that  the  bee 
had  gone  down  into  its  burrow  until  I  had 
noticed  two  or  more  disappear  after  alighting 
on  the  ground.  Closer  examination  disclosed 
several  mounds  of  finely  pulverized  earth  at 
the  entrance  of  the  burrows.  On  some  of 
these  I  had  been  stepping,  besides  in  moving 
about  I  had  tramped  and  mashed  down  much 
of  the  grass  and  flowers  covering  the  restrict- 
ed area  occupied  by  the  bees.  It  was  a  trian- 
gular piece  the  three  sides  of  which  were  not 
more  than  three  feet  in  length.  Over  this  I 
now  saw  maybe  fifty,  or  more,  bees  hover- 
ing  and   flying   in   slow   zigzag   manner.      The 


58 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


.5  • 

u 


pg  m  bo 

2  | 

<   ■ 


CQ 


■0 

S  •-  2 
0  g3 
tt   S*J 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


59 


meaning  of  this  gathering  was  soon  explained. 
Individual  bees  returning  to  their  burrowa 
were  unable  to  locate  the  places  by  reason  of 
the  disturbance  of  the  land  marks,  i.  e.,  the 
grasses  and  flowers,  and  were  flying  slowly 
about  trying  to  find  their  homes.  Soon  the 
place  was  alive  with  the  distracted  insects, 
some  of  them  alighted  on  the  ground  and 
searched  for  their  burrows.  A  few  were  suc- 
cessful. As  I  could  not  restore  the  land- 
marks or  in  any  way  make  amends  for  the 
damage   done  I  left  them  to   themselves. 

While    watching   the   actions    of   these    little 
bees  it  was  easy  to   interpret  their  confusion. 
The    grass   stalks   and   flower   stems,    before    I 
had   crushed   them   down,   were  as  familiar  to 
them   and   were  as   much   landmarks   to   them 
as  would   be  to  us  the   trees  about  our  place. 
Once    in   a   while    one   little   bee      would      rise 
higher  in  its  flights  as  if  to  take  observations 
of   the      greater      landmarks      indicating      the 
position   of   the   colony;    then   apparently   con- 
vinced it  was  at  the  right  spot,  would  resume 
its   search   among  the  flattened     and      twisted 
grasses.      I   did  not  have  the  heart  to   commit 
further    outrage   upon    the   colony   by   using   a 
trowel,  or  in  other  words  dig  up  their  burrows 
for    information    as    to    their    nesting    habits, 
which  I  concluded  was  obtainable  in  some  of 
my  books.     These  bees  are  the  smallest  of  all 
those  that  burrow  into  the  ground  and  aver- 
age about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length.  They 
belong  to  the   genus  Halictus.     Their   congre- 
gation  into    communities   and   arrangement   of 
their  homes — apartment  house  fashion,  several 
families    in    a    burrow — as    Comstock    says — is 
one    of   the   peculiarities    of  the    little    fellows, 
unknown  with  other  genera  of  the  bee  family. 
All  bees,   of  which  there  is  said  to  be  fully 
fifteen  hundred   species  including  the  hive,   or 
domestic  bees,  eat  or  depend  exclusively  upon 
vegetable   food   in   some   form,   while   members 
of   the   wasp    family   may   feed   on   both   vege- 
table   and    animal    matter.      With    bees    their 
food   is   ordinarily  in   the   form   of  pollen   and 
the  nectar  extracted  from  flowers.     The  pollen 
that   is  gathered   for   the   use  of  the   nestlings 
is   carried   on   a   certain   part   of  the   posterior 
pair  of  legs  by  some  kinds  of  bees,  under  the 
abdomen,  and  on  the  thorax  behind  the  wing? 
by  other  species.      The   nectar,   converted   into 
honey,    gathered    for    the    same    purpose,    the 
surplus    of    which    finds    its   way   as   a    dainty 
dish  on  man's  breakfast  table,  is  swallowed  by 
the  bee.     According  to  David  Sharp  the  necta.r 
passes  down  the  throat  of  the  bees  as  far  as  the 
crop    of    its    alimentary    canal,    into    what    is 
called    the    honey    sack,    and    at   the    hive,    or 
nest,    is   regurgitated.      In      the      process      the 
nectar  of  the   flower  is  converted  into  honey, 
supposedly  by  the  contribution  by  the  bee   of 
some    glandular    secretion.       The    male    fbees 
carry  no  pollen. 

The  young  of  the  social  bees  are  raised 
in  the  abode  of  the  parents  and  are  fed  after 
the  manner  of  baby  birds  by  the  workers  of 
the  hive,  or  nest,  but  with  the  solitary  bee  the 
parents  and  young  never  see  each  other.  The 
female,  according  to  the  species  of  which  she 
is  a  member,  finds,  or  makes,  a  suitable  place 
to  construct  a  nest.  It  may  be  a  crevice  in 
the   rocks,   or  a  hole   excavated  in  wood,   the 


earth,  or  the  hollow  of  some  pithy  stem 
growth.  In  such  a  place  she  makes  a  cell, 
stores  it  with  pollen  and  honey,  lays  an  egg 
on  the  food,  after  which  she  closes  up  the 
cell,  then  completes  a  few  more  cells  in  the 
same  way,  one  on  top  of  the  other.  When 
this  undertaking  is  finished  the  mother  bee, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  little  carpenter  bee, 
shows  no  more  interest  in  the  nest  or  its 
occupants. 

A  most  wonderful  provision  of  nature  for 
preventing  the  fouling  of  the  food  of  the 
young  bee  'by  faecal  matter  while  it  is  in 
the  larval  stage  and  confined  in  the  cell  is 
that  the  posterior  part  of  the  alimentary 
canal  does  not  connect  with  the  stomach  until 
the   larva   is   about    ready   to    pupate. 

The    near    relatives   of   the    bee    family,    the 
wasps,  were  still  in  their  winter  retreats,  with 
very    few    exceptions.      The   wasp    must      have 
warm    weather.      While   the    days   were   warm 
the   nights  still   bore   a   frosty   air.      Now   and 
then  a  representative  of  the  Polistes  could  be 
seen  flying  around  in  search  of  material  with 
which  to   build   a  nest,   or  for  food  to   supply 
its  needs  following  a  winter's   fasting.      These 
are  the   slender   black      and      yellow      marked 
wasps    that    build    open    inverted    nests   under 
house    eaves,    sheds,    rocks,    etc.,      and      catch 
various  kinds  of  insects  which  they  masticate 
and    feed    their    young.      Four    or    five    speci- 
mens of  a  species  of  the     Sphecidae     family 
were  seen  on  the  warmest  days  flying  up  and 
down  the  road  with  occasional  excursions  into 
the  grass  bordering  the  roadway.     This  wasp 
when  nesting  digs  a  hole  in  the     ground     in 
which    it   places   a    grasshopper    for    food      to 
supply  the    larva   from    a   single      egg     when 
hatched.      It    is   a   very      interesting      sight   to 
watch  the  operations  of  these  wasps  engaged 
in  making  the  nest  and  stocking  it  with  food. 
In   another   chapter  I   have   given  the   details 
of    the    intelligent    actions    of    some      of      the 
wasps    while    occupied    in    this   work   which    I 
had   the   good   fortune   to   observe   on   two   or 
three  previous  occasions.     At  Deerwood,  how- 
ever, the  Sphex  had  not  yet    commenced    the 
serious   work    of    their    lives.      I    spent    much 
time   following  their   flights  and   their  actions 
when  on  the  ground,  but  so  far  as  I  could  dis- 
cover the   wasps   had   no   particular   object   In 
view   other  than  to  enjoy  the  warm   sunshine. 
I   had   hoped   to   witness  their  actions   in   cap- 
turing a  grasshopper,  which   usually   is   much 
larger   than      themselves.      The      grasshoppers 
were    about    but    their    presence    was    ignored 
by  the  wasps.     The  summer  and  fall  in  which 
to    work    was    yet    before    them,    and    as    the 
making  of  a  nest  and  stocking  and  closing  it 
up  after  laying  the  egg  is  the  work  of  only  a 
few  hours  or  days  at  the  most,  they  probably 
reasoned  that  there  was  an  abundance  of  time 
ahead    in    which    to    perform    the    hard    work 
nature   demanded    of    them,    and    until    it   was 
time    to    begin    work    they    would    pass    their 
days   in    ease — as  I   saw   them.      How      many 
nests    one    of    these    wasps    constructs    in    the 
course  of  a  season   no  one  seems  to  have  yet 
discovered.      It   must    be      quite      a      number, 
otherwise  the  species  would  not  persist,  for  the 
nests  are  subject  to  destruction  by  reason  of 


60 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


their  locations,  and  quite  a  large  percentage 
of  their  larvae  become  the  victims  of  para- 
sites. 

In  season  Deerwood  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  places  with  the  yellow  jackets,  Vespa 
Germanica,  and  the  so-called  hornets,  Vespa 
Maculata.  The  latter  are  larger  than  the  for- 
mer and  are  black  marked  with  white.  They 
are  rather  vicious  in  disposition  and  it  is  well 
to  give  their  nests  a  wide  berth.  One  of 
their  habits  is  making  game  and  food  out  of 
their  cousins,  the  yellow  jackets,  which  our 
folks  last  fall  were  disposed  to  regard  as  a 
redeeming  feature  in  the  character  and  repu- 
tation of  the  white-faced  hornet,  owing  to  the 
great  number  of  the  yellow  jackets  that  per- 
sisted in  obtruding  themselves  about  the 
house,  provender  and  cooking.  Up  to  the  time 
we  took  our  departure  from  Deerwood  at  the 
end  of  the  visit  of  which  I  am  writing,  not  a 
single  specimen  of  yellow  jacket  or  hornet  had 
put  in  an  appearance.  However,  in  a  very 
short  time  they  would  have  outnumbered  the 
bees. 

Nature  has  a  time  for  everything  in  insect 
life.  Some  particular  kinds  appear  early  in 
the  year  and  pass  through  all  the  changes 
that  characterize  their  career  of  life  and  are 
seen  no  more  until  another  year  rolls  around; 
some  are  with  us,  objectionably  so,  from 
early  spring  to  late  fall;  while  others  follow 
along  in  the  order  of  their  adaption  to  sea- 
sonal and  food  conditions,  go  through  the 
routine  of  the  existence  of  the  species,  and 
disappear.  Similarly  the  activities  of  the  ma- 
jority of  insects  are  .  confined  to  certain  dif- 
ferent hours  of  the  days.  Some  confine  their 
operations  to  daylight  hours,  while  many  are 
exclusively  nocturnal  in  their  habits,  and  re- 
main hidden  away  during  the  day.  Even  of 
the  daylight  species,  some  are  to  be  seen  at 
certain  hours  only.  Some  waiting  until  the 
air  is  warmed  by  the  morning  sun,  some 
that  are  active  for  only  three  or  four  hours 
in  the  middle  of  the  day,  while  there  are 
others  that  do  not  show  themselves  until  the 
shadows  of  the  setting  sun  are  elongated  over 
their  habitations,  or  the  sun  itself  has  dis- 
appeared below  the  horizon.  One  of  the  ex- 
ceptions to  these  features  in  insect  life  is  the 
mosquito.  It  is  always  with  us  in  the  vicinity 
of  water  suitable  for  the  propagation  of  the 
pest. 

"Tumble  bug"  is  the  name  commonly  ap- 
plied to  certain  species  of  Scarabaeidae  that 
are  quite  common  in  the  United  States,  and 
many  other  parts  of  the  world.  It  gets  its 
common  name  from  its  curious  habit  of  rolling 
little  balls  of  animal  excrement  along  the 
ground  to  some  place  suitable  to  its  purpose 
where  it  buries  it.  Some  authorities  say  the 
ball  is  for  its  own  food,  others  say  it  is  a 
provision  for  its  larvae.  Perhaps  both  are 
correct.  The  tumble  bug  Is  a  chunky  little 
fellow,  and  like  many  other  members  of  the 
Scrarbaeidae  family  is  almost  as  broad  as  it 
is  long.  They  vary  somewhat  in  size.  Much 
has  been  written  about  the  habits  of  this 
group  of  beetles,  but  the  statement  of  some 
of  the  observers  do  not  always  agree.  Fabre, 
the  famous  naturalist,  gave  much  time  to  the 


study  of  their  habits  and  some  of  his  most 
interesting  writings  relate  to  the  life  history  of 
these  beetles.  He  says  that  at  first  they  pro- 
cure and  bury  this  peculiar  food  for  them- 
selves, storing  enough  under  ground  to  last 
them  through  the  hot  days  of  summer,  where 
they  quietly  remain  during  that  season, 
emerging  again  in  the  fall  to  store  a  larger 
underground  chamber  with  dung  as  provender 
for  their  young. 

I  had  the  opportunity  of  watching  the  op- 
erations of  members  of  this  particular  kind 
of  beetle  at  Deerwood  one  afternoon.  The 
species  was  identified  as  Canthon  Militants. 
They  were  little  fellows  about  three-eighths 
of  an  inch  long.  A  day  or  so  before  a  drove 
of  sheep  had  been  driven  by  the  place  where 
we  found  the  beetles.  It  was  droppings  from 
these  sheep  that  three  beetles  were  rolling 
along  the  hard  ground,  all  going  in  the  same 
direction,  apparently,  as  it  afterwards  ap- 
peared, to  a  spot  where  there  was  some  rather 
loose  sandy  soil.  The  sheep  droppings  were 
spherical  and  considerable  larger  than  the 
"bugs,"  and  it  was  remarkable  to  note  the  ease 
and  speed  with  which  they  moved  the  load 
along.  Each  of  the  three  beetles  had  a  ball, 
but  on  one,  which  I  will  refer  to  hereafter  as 
Number  one,  was  a  motionless  beetle,  firmly 
clasping  the  sphere  with  all  of  its  outspread 
legs.  The  movement  was  given  to  the  balls 
by  the  beetles  standing  on  their  front  and 
middle  legs,  walking  backwards,  pushing  and 
directing  the  load  with  their  hind  legs  and 
feet.  "Where  the  ground  was  free  from  rock 
fragments  and  grass  stalks,  rapid  progress  was 
made  and  the  rolling  over  and  over  did  not 
seem  to  disconcert  the  beetle  riding  on  num- 
ber one,  whatever  the  bug  pushing  may  have 
thought  about  the  extra  work  imposed  on  it 
by  the  bettle  insisting  on  "dead-heading"  it. 
Occasionally  the  push-beetle  would  stop, 
leave  the  ball  and  walk  around  it,  as  if  in- 
specting the  obstacles  impeding  its  work.  A 
few  times  it  stopped  when  there  were  no  im- 
pediments. Whether  it  was  to  rest  or  to  ex- 
amine the  soil  a£  to  its  fitness  to  bury  the 
ball,  who  could  say?  However,  afterwards  I 
was  inclined  to  think  the  stoppage  was  for 
the  latter,  for  finally  it  came  to  the  place  with 
loose  soil  and  there  stopped  and  walked  about 
the  ball  for  a  few  seconds,  never  going  farther 
away  than  an  inch  or  so.  Expecting  it  to  re- 
sume its  travels  I  was  surprised  to  see  it  take 
a  position  alongside  of  the  ball  and  commence 
to  crawl,  into  the  earth.  The  bug  did  not  dig 
a  hole  in  which  to  enter  but  just  forced  its 
way  down  into  the  loose  soil.  It  was  soon  out 
of  sight,  but  I  could  see  that  it  was  moving 
still  by  the  heaving  of  the  surface  of  the 
ground  for  a  space  of  about  the  diameter  of 
a  half  dollar.  Now  the  ball  began  to  sink, 
which  seemed  to  be  the  cue  for  the  beginning 
of  the  actions  of  the  beetle  that  had  been 
motionless  on  the  ball  all  this  time.  It  sud- 
denly slid  off  the  ball  and  putting  its  hind 
feet  against  it  quickly  rolled  the  ball  out  of 
the  pit  that  was  opening  to  receive  it,  and 
then  began  pushing  it  away,  and  succeeded  in 
moving  it  about  20  inches,  where  it  was 
stalled     by    getting    in    among    some    broken 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


61 


rocks.  To  me  the  transaction  appeared  a 
flagrant  act  of  theft.  Up  to  that  moment  I 
had  looked  upon  the  rider  of  the  ball  as  being 
the  partner  of  the  one  pushing  it.  However, 
the  thought  may  nave  oeen  unjust  to  the 
beetle,  for  in  the  beginning  it  may  have  been 
the  original  discoverer  of  the  strange  morsel 
of  food  and  its  action  in  clinging  motionless  to 
the  ball  might  have  been  a  strategic  act  to 
maintain  possession  of  its  property,  defeating 
the  purpose  of  a  dishonest  and  stronger  kins- 
man trying  to  rob  it.  Either  way  you  view 
the  matter,  the  action  of  the  bug  in  quietly 
waiting  until  its  opponent  was  far  under- 
ground preparatory  to  burying  the  ball,  then 
suddenly  waking  up  and  running  off  with  the 
prize  while  the  other  beetle  was  in  such 
position  it  could  do  nothing  to  retain  it  even 
if  it  knew  that  the  ball  was  being  taken  away, 
was  a  remarkable  display  of  cunning,  call  it 
instinct,   or  intelligence,   or  what  you  may. 

The  beetle  having  pushed  the  ball  into  a  place 
from  which  it  seemed  unable  to  remove  it,  I 
picked  up  both  the  bug  and  ball  and  placed 
them  on  some  loose  soil.  The  beetle  lay  quiet 
simulating  death  for  a  few  moments,  after 
which  it  "dug  in"  where  it  lay,  making  no 
effort  to  take  the  ball  with  it  nor  did  it  re- 
turn to  the  surface  while  I  was  there.  I 
watched  for  the  other  beetle  to  come  out  dur- 
ing the  hour  I  had  the  insects  under  observa- 
tion, but  it  did  not  make  an  appearance. 

The  next  beetle  to  come  under  notice  was 
rolling  a  ball  after  the  manner  described  in 
the  foregoing.  It  had  no  contestant  for  own- 
ership. It  was  rolling  the  ball  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  same  spot  of  soft  earth  to  which 
the  other  beetle  had  rolled  the  ball  of  con- 
tested ownership.  When  number  two  reached 
the  place,  after  overcoming  several  obstacles, 
making  a  few  stops  for  rest  or  inspection  of 
the  route,  it  buried  itself  alongside  the  ball, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  moment  or  so  the  ball 
began  to  sink  in  the  loose  soil.  It  descended 
slowly  as  if  it  were  a  substance  sinking  in  a 
fluid  massi  of  a  little  less  density,  and  Anally 
disappeared.  Like  the  Chinaman's  description 
of  the  electric  car:  "No  pushee!  No  pullee!  It 
go    all    samee!" 

Number  three  was  discovered  in  a  rougher 
piece  of  ground  rolling  its  ball  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  soft  patch  of  soil.  It  was  making 
very  slow  progress,  but  exhibited  remarkable 
strength  and  good  judgment  in  overcoming 
the  difficulties  met  with.  Its  actions  in  what 
appeared  to  be  stoppages  for  inspection  of  its 
surroundings  were  the  same  as  described  for 
the  other  beetles.  After  watching  its  slow 
progress  for  some  time  I  picked  up  both 
beetle  and  its  ball  and  put  them  down  on  the 


loose  soil.  The  little  fellow  immediately  dis- 
appeared in  the  sandy  earth  but  made  no  ef- 
fort to  take  the  ball  below,  neither  did  it 
return  for  it  while  I  remained  on  watch.  See- 
ing another  of  the  beetles  out  on  the  hard 
ground  rambling  around  as  if  in  search  of  a 
ball  I  picked  it  up  and  placed  it  alongside  of 
the  ball  abandoned  by  number  three.  The 
bug  lay  on  its  back  as  if  dead  for  fully  fif- 
teen minutes.  I  then  placed  a  leaf  so  to  cover 
both  bug  and  ball.  After  a  wait  of  a  few 
moments  I  removed  the  leaf  and  found  the 
beetle  on  top  of  the  ball  clasping  it  with  out- 
spread legs  and  feet.  It  remained  in  this 
position  eight  or  ten  minutes,  then  slid  off 
and  burrowed  into  the  earth,  leaving  the  ball 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  I  remained  in  the 
vicinity  for  a  half-hour,  but  there  was  no  re- 
appearance of  any  of  the  performers — the  en- 
tertainment, to  my  great  regret,  was  over. 

On  an  occasion  of  a  visit  to  the  dry  bed  of 
the  stream  flowing  past  our  place  in  search 
of  insects  we  found  all  the  damp  places  in- 
habited by  a  small  highly  colored  beetle 
known  as  the  Bombardier.  The  wing  covers 
were  dark  blue,  while  the  thorax,  head  and 
legs  were  red.  We  saw  none  of  them  until  we 
began  to  turn  over  the  cobblestones;  fre- 
quently as  many  as  half  dozen  were  found 
under  one  stone.  They  were  extremely  lively 
and  it  required  quick  action  to  make  a  cap- 
ture. This  would  be  the  time  when  the  beetles 
would  display  the  remarkable  peculiarity  from 
which  they  obtained  their  name  of  Bombar- 
dier. As  soon  as  one  was  caught  it  ejected 
from  its  rear  end  a  jet  of  fluid  which  upon 
contact  with  the  air  turns  to  a  gas  and  looks 
like  smoke.  As  the  change  is  followed  by  a 
tiny  pop,  the  sound  and  "smoke"  suggest  the 
explosion  of  a  miniature  bomb.  Some  of  the 
beetles  were  able  to  eject  three  to  four 
"bombs"  with  almost  rapid  fire  effect.  The 
explosions  were  accompanied  by  a  slight 
smell  somewhat  offensive.  Observers  who  have 
dissected  these  insects  say  the  fluid  is  con- 
tained in  a  little  sack  located  at  the  hind  end 
of  the  abdomen.  It  is  used  as  a  means  of 
defense  when  attacked  by  enemies.  For  in- 
stance, when  a  larger  beetle  pursues  it  the 
Bombardier  throws  a  "bomb"  in  its  face,  and 
in  the  smoke  and  confusion  of  the  explosion 
sometimes   finds  opportunity  to   escape. 

This  beetle  belongs  to  the  genus  Brachinus 
of  the  Carabidae  family.  There  are  twenty- 
six  species  known  in  North  America.  While 
some  seasons  they  are  quite  common  if  you 
know  where  to  look  for  them,  at  other  times 
a  search  of  their  habitats  will  not  reveal  a 
single   specimen. 


62 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


VALLEY  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  DIABLO  CANYON. 


LAKE  AT  LOWER  END  OF  DIABLO  CANYON. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


DIABLO  CANYON 

Familiar  and  Strange  Things  of  Interest  Observed  During  a  Day 
Spent  Within  Its  Walls 


While  sojourning  at  the  Mt.  Diablo  Oountry 
Club  a  beautiful  spring  day  suggested  to  me 
that  a  walk  up  on  the  sides  of  old  Diablo 
would  not  only  afford  pleasurable  recreation, 
but  where  all  plant  life  was  stimulated  by 
seasonal  conditions  to  activities  that  gave 
freshness  and  beauty  to  the  surroundings,  and 
the  bird  and  animal  life  of  the  mountain  was 
to  be  found  at  its  best,  I  should  probably  meet 
with  something  in  Nature's  great  family  and 
in  the  fulfillment  and  operation  of  her  laws 
that  would   be   new  and   instructive   to   me. 

I  will  confess  it  was  more  the  thought  of 
the  wild  flowers,  for  the  variableness  and 
beauty  of  which  Mt.  Diablo  is  celebrated,  that 
was  uppermost  in  my  mind  when  I  started 
out  on  the  trip.  I  chose  the  old  road,  which 
has  been  closed  to  travel  for  several  years, 
as  affording  an  easy  grade  up  the  wooded 
canyon,  to  the  ieft  of  the  Toll  House,  as  well 
as  being  less  frequented  by  the  public,  and 
where  the  thoughtless  automobilists  had  not 
ravished  the  flowering  shrubs  by  the  road- 
sides, robbing  them  of  their  beauty  in  flowers 
and  symmetry,  or  depopulated  the  bird  life 
with   the  repeating  shotgun. 

Others  with  more  imaginative  minds  and 
poetical  thoughts  than  I  possess  have  walked 
up  this  same  canyon  long  before  it  became 
my  privilege  to  enjoy  its  grandure  and  en- 
chantments, and  have  given  freedom  to  their 
enthusiasm  and  inspiration  in  vivid  and 
prettily  worded  descriptions  of  its  bowered 
nooks,  tree-canopied  trails,  flower  carpeted 
ridges,  majestic  rocky  walls,  crystal  springs, 
soul-inspiring  views  and  other  features  firing 
the  spirit  for  mountain  tramping  and  com- 
munion with  Nature.  This  has  been  done 
so  well  and  so  frequently  I  will  leave  the  sub- 
ject of  the  canyon  with  the  general  statement 
that  it  is  worth  the  while  of  anyone,  who 
loves  the  hills  of  the  Coast  Ranges  and  has 
the  strength,  to  walk  through  its  entire 
length  a  distance  of, about  two  miles  from  the 
Toll  House.  Nearly  every  foot  of  the  way  has 
something  of  interest  for  the  artist,  for  the 
student  of  botany,  lover  of  birds,  the  collec- 
tors of  entomological  specimens,  and  fossil  de- 
posits for  geologists.  There  is  plenty  of 
brush  to  crawl  through,  rocks  to  scale  or  clam- 
ber over,  deep  gulches  and  steep  ridges,  to 
make  a  day  of  as  tough  mountain  work  as 
one  has  ambition  for.  But  all  that  can  be 
avoided  by  keeping  on  the  old  abandoned 
wagon  roadbed  and  following  its  turns  and 
grade  to  the  head  of  the  canyon,  where  it 
intercepts  the  new  toll  road  going  up  to  the 
summit.  The  old  road   is  shaded  much   of  the 


distance  by  the  friendly  branches  of  numer- 
ous oaks,  laurels  and  maples,  growing  in  the 
canyon   and   by   the   roadside. 

I  had  made  two  or  three  trips  up  the  can- 
yon before  and  I  must  say  I  was  somewhat 
disappointed  in  the  variety  and  number  of 
wild  flowers  met  with,  although  I  was  pre- 
pared for  it  by  the  knowledge  that  dry  win- 
ters mean  absence  in  the  following  spring 
of  many  species  of  flowering  plants.  Yet  I 
was  hoping  the  mountain  would  do  better 
than  the  neighboring  range  to  the  west,  in 
keeping  with  its  reputation,  but  as  I  have 
intimtaed,  the  variety  was  limited  and  the 
number  far  less  than  was  expected.  The 
amount  of  rainfall  and  the  changes  of  tem«- 
perature  in  the  winter  and  early  spring 
months  determines  the  character  of  Nature's 
floral  display  in  the  spring  and  summer  fol- 
lowing. This  fact  was  plainly  manifested 
during  a  period  of  several  seasons  on  the 
Pleasanton  ridge,  where  I  made  a  study  of 
the  wild  flowers  of  that  section.  Some  species 
of  plants,  like  the  sunflower,  cyclamen,  brod- 
iaea,  California  poppy,  tulip,  pansy  and  about 
all  that  blossom  in  the  early  spring,  could  be 
depended  upon  to  make  their  appearance 
every  year  in  the  same  localities  with  little 
or  no  variation  in  numbers,  while  many 
others  were  wholly  absent,  or  scarce  or  in 
profusion  according  to  the  season's  rainfall 
and  temperature.  Among  the  plants  noted 
as  being  so  influenced  by  seasonal  condi- 
tions were  godetia,  wind  poppy,  clarkia, 
escobita  and  larkspur.  Some  years  patches  on 
the  hillside  of  some  of  these  flowers  were 
so  thick  and  extensive  they  formed  con- 
spicuous spots  in  the  landscape,  visible  miles 
away.  Yet  on  the  following  season,  because 
of  too  mucht  or  too  little  rain  or  too  much, 
or  too  little  warmth,  scarcely  a  representative 
of  the  floral  profusion  of  the  previous  year 
was  to  be  found.  Every  flower  seed  has  its 
time  for  germination,  some  in  the  early  win- 
ter and  others  along  toward  summer,  and  if 
the  moisture  and  warmth  of  the  ground  is  not 
sufficient  to  awaken  into  life  the  mysterious 
little  germ  it  holds  when  that  period  ap- 
proaches, then  the  seed  must  lay  dormant 
until  a  season  of  favorable  conditions  comes 
along  and  gives  it  the  assistance  required  to 
fulfill  the  purpose  of  Nature.  Other  sea- 
sonal conditions  complicate  matters,  such  as 
extended  periods  of  drouth  after  the  sprouting 
of  the  seed  and  before  the  young  plant  has 
been  able  to  send  its  little  roots  down  into 
the  soil,  and  the  plant  is  killed.  There  may 
be   other   causes   contributing  to   the   intermit- 


64 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


tent  occurrence  of  wild  flowers  which  a 
study   of   the   subject  would   develop. 

It  is  known  among  botanists  and  some  stu- 
dents of  our  wild  flowers  that  there  is  an 
epilobium  and  another  flower  belonging  to 
the  liliaceae  that  are  frequently  found  in  pro- 
fusion in  burned-over  brush  land  or  forest 
tracts.  The  former  is  commonly  called  Fire 
Weed.  It  is  a  purple  flower  and  grows  in 
other  places,  but  it  makes  its  greatest  attrac- 
tion in  the  burned-over  areas  by  the  mass  of 
color  arising  from  the  thick  setting  of  the 
plants.  The  other  plant  is  commonly  known 
as  Bear  Grass,  Basket  Grass  and  Squaw 
Grass.  Its  botanical  name  is  Xerophyllum 
terrax.  It  is  quite  common  throughout  the 
Coast  Range  and  is  known  as  far  north  as 
British   Columbia. 

The  plants  look  something  like  large 
clumps  of  bunch  grass,  but  with  broader  and 
longer  leaves,  which  turn  outward  with  more 
graceful  curves.  It  is  said  that  the  Indian 
womei  made  their  finest  baskets  with  the 
leaves  from  this  plant.  The  blossom  forms 
on  the  end  of  a  fast  growing  stalk  and  con- 
sists of  a  spike  of  closely  arranged  little 
cream-colored  flowers.  The  stalk  sometimes 
reaches  a  height  of  six  feet  or  more,  and 
continues  to  send  forth  new  buds  and 
flowers  daily  from  the  terminal  end  from 
the  time  it  makes  its  first  appearance  above 
the  surrounding  leaves  until  it  reaches  its 
limit  of  growth.  Nearly  all  the  botanical 
books  on  the  flowers  of  California  describe 
the  plants  as  blossoming  only  once  in  from 
five  to  seven  years,  and  then  dying,  whereas 
it  is  claimed  by  some  observers  that  it  blooms, 
in  the  Coast  Range  at  least,  only  on  a 
section  of  country  that  has  been  burned 
over.  However  that  may  be.  it  is  only  on 
sections  of  redwood  forest  that  had  been  re- 
cently visited  by  fire  that  I  have  met  with  the 
plant  in  bloom.  In  truth,  although  I  had 
known  the  plant  by  commonly  meeting  it  in 
the  mountain  for  years,  I  was  not  aware  of 
its  floweirng  quality  until  I  saw  its  blossoms 
in  great  profusion,  acres  of  them,  in  a  patch 
of  Mendocino  redwood  country  which  had 
been  crossed  by  a  severe  forest  fire  during 
the  previous  year.  It  was  a  remarkable 
sight.  Yet  you  would  not  care  to  say  it  was 
beautiful,  charming,  etc.,  for  the  picture 
still  bore  too  many  features  of  the  destruc- 
tive work  of  the  fire  of  the  year  before, 
but  it  was  attractive  and  a  subject  fit  for  the 
artist's  brush  that  can  faithfully  mingle  the 
innocent  and  beautiful  with  the  tragic  and 
terrible.  In  the  seasons  following  the  years 
when  the  fires  that  traversed  portions  of  the 
flanks  of  Mt.  Tamalpais,  destroying  so  much 
vegetation,  the  basket  plants  caused  much 
surprise  and  comment  among  frequenters  of 
the  section,  by  the  sudden  change  in  its 
character,  from  little  more  than  bunches 
of  what  appeared  to  be  ordinary  grass  to 
very  showy  blooming  plants. 

Another,  thing  that  tends  to  confirm  the 
opinion  that  it  is  the  conditions  of  soil 
brought  about  by  a  forest  fire  that  stimu- 
lates the  plant  into  throwing  up  flower 
stalks   is   the   fact    that   every      plant      to      be 


found  located  well  in  on  the  burned-over 
area  is  made  to  blossom.  If  it  were  the 
peculiar  habit  of  these  plants  not  to  bloom 
until  5  to  7  years  old  then  die,  the  plants 
in  the  burned  district  would  not  all  be  in 
blossom  at  the  same  time.  Obviously  the 
plants  I  saw  in  Mendocino  could  not  have 
been  all  of  the  same  age,  yet  all  were  in 
flower.  Next  year,  or  in  the  following  sea- 
son, upon  visiting  this  particular  burnt  dis- 
trict I  found  numerous  basket  grass  plants 
but  not  a  single  one  in  blossom,  nor  have  I 
seen  another  flower  there  since,  though 
several    seasons   have    come   and   gone. 

The  discussion  of  this  subject  has  by  de- 
grees led  us  away  some  distance  from  the 
locality  of  which  I  started  to  write,  but  I 
will  take  a  short  cut  back,  by  mention  of 
two  or  three  of  the  plants  and  shrubs  that 
seemed  more  conspicuous  and  attractive  by 
reason  of  their  beauty  and  rariety,  found  on 
my  trip  through  the  canyon.  One  and  the 
most  common  was  the  Red-osier  Dogwood, 
Oornus  stolonifera.  This  is  a  very  handsome 
shrub  and  when  covered  with  its  clusters  of 
cream-white  flowers  and  yellow  stamens  is 
quite  fragrant.  Its  branches  and  twigs  of 
dark  red  carry  leaves  the  upper  surface  of 
which  are  rich  green,  with  pale  green  be- 
neath. Its  blossoms  apparently  were  abund- 
antly supplied  with  nectar,  judging  from  the 
great  quantity  of  insect  life  upon  and  about 
the  shrubs.  No  less  than  four  different 
orders  of  insects  were  represented  by  about  a 
dozen  different  species.  The  shrubs  in  the 
canyon  of  Mt.  Diablo  were  most  shapely  and 
grew  to  a  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet  and 
ivould  be  ornaments  in  a  private  garden. 
Apparently  the  plant  requires  considerable 
moisture,  for  I  did  not  find  it  anywhere  at 
any  distance  from  the  bed  or  banks  of  th« 
jreek. 

I  had  been  told  that  the  Western  wall- 
flower, Erysimum  asperum,  was  to  be  found 
in  abundance  in  places  on  the  mountain.  As 
I  haa  never  found  a  specimen  in  all  my 
rambles  about  Pleasanton  and  Livermore  I 
was  more  than  anxious  to  meet  this  stranger. 
Although  I  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the  look- 
out for  its  occurrence  in  places  favorable  to 
its  growth  I  did  not  find  a  single  plant  of  it 
in  the  canyon,  but  while  returning  home  by 
way  of  the  new,  or  Toll  Road,  I  found  it  in 
spots  almost  as  thick  as  the  mustard  of  which 
the  wall  flower  is  a  very  near  relative.  In 
fact  a  careless  observer  might  not  discover 
any  difference  in  their  appearance,  but  of 
course  there  is.  The  wall  flower  is  larger  and 
has  a  richer  color  and  is  very  fragrant.  It 
is  said  that  it  is  found  to  vary  from  the 
yellow  to  orange  and  even  purple  in  some 
parts  of  the  south  coast. 

Another  of  California's  showy  trailing  vines, 
much  admired  when  in  bloom,  is  the  wild 
plematis,  C.  lasiantha.  The  vines  trail  over  the 
brush  and  rocks  and  their  yellowish  flowers 
of  an  inch  and  a  half  or  more  in  diameter 
make  a  pleasing  contrast  to  its  dark  green 
foliage.  It  is  said  that  in  some  localities  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  as  well  as  of  the 
Coast   Range   at  times  the  plants  are  so  num- 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


65 


erous  and  the  flowers  so  abundant  that  they 
make  the  places  conspicious.  In  all  my 
travels  in  the  mountains  I  never  happened 
to  meet  with  such  an  occurrence.  With  the 
clematis  I  was  almost  a  total  stranger,  so 
when  I  saw  the  pretty  vine  with  its  attractive 
flowers  creeping  over  the  top  of  a  mountain 
shrub  along  the  old  roadside  I  was  more  than 
pleased,  though  at  first  I  did  not  recognize 
it.  However,  a  few  moments  of  study  of  its 
peculiarities  soon  enabled  me  to  identify  it. 
For  the  last  three  seasons  I  had  been  looking 
for  this  particular  plant.  I  do  not  recite  these 
facts  to  question  the  accuracy  of  the  writers 
who  claim  for  it  appearance  so  numerous  in 
places,  but  it  might  be  truthfully  said  those 
places  are  not  common.  It  reminds  me  that 
while  on  a  visit  to  Catalina  Island  I  found 
two  specimens  of  Isomeris,  the  only  ones  that 
had  ever  come  under  my  notice.  Later  while 
exploring  a  canyon  near  Palm  Springs,  Colo- 
rado desert,  I  came  across  a  couple  more 
plants  of  the  same  kind.  Up  to  this  time  I 
concluded  this  plant  was  exceedingly  rare 
even  in  Southern  California,  its  home;  but  it 
was  a  conclusion  I  freely  gave  up  later  when 
from  a  car  window  while  on  a  trip  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State  I  saw  miles  of 
Isomeri    growing    along    the    roadside. 

Another  flower  found  on  this  excursion, 
said  to  be  common  in  some  sections,  which  I 
had  not  met  with  for  many  years,  was  a 
specimen  of  that  odd  but  pretty  little  yel- 
lowish blossom  known  as  Whispering  bells, 
Emmenanthe  penduliflora.  Its  range  is  given 
as  being  from  Lake  county,  Calif.,  to  Ari- 
zona. The  topmost  flowers  on  the  flower 
stalk  stand  erect  when  they  first  open,  but 
as  the  stalk  grows  and  other  buds  take  the 
terminal  position  they  droop  until  they  hang 
gracefully  downward.  Later  they  become 
dry  like  paper,  keeping  their  cup,  or  bell, 
shape,  and  as  some  people  thought  they  de- 
tected a  faint  noise  arising  from  the  wind- 
shaken  blossoms  they  were  called  Whispering 
bells.  The  plants  are  about  twelve  or  four- 
teen inches  tall,  and  the  flower  stalk  carries 
eight  or  ten  blossoms — the  bells  of  which  are 
a  little  over  a  half  inch  in  depth. 

While  traveling  along  the  old  road  near 
the  upper  end  of  the  canyon  I  had  noticed 
here  and  there  great  numbers  of  fly-like  in- 
sects slowly  flying  about;  their  manner  of 
flight  was  erratic,  and  was  confined  to  but 
little  more  than  the  breadth  of  the  road  and 
to  not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  of  its 
length,  and  in  this  area  they  seldom  flew 
higher  than  six  or  eight  feet.  I  passed 
through  three  or  four  congregations  of  these 
insects,  without  giving  them  much  thought 
or  attention,  as  my  mind  was  almost  wholly 
taken  up  with  the  botanical  developments 
and  possibilities  of  the  trip.  However,  after 
passing  out  of  the  canyon  and  starting  for 
home  down  the  new  road  I  encountered  more 
groups  of  the  insects,  .  which  seemed  to  be 
flying  about  in  the  manner  described  as  if 
they  were  deriving  as  much  fun  and  enjoy- 
ment from  the  exercise  as  a  lot  of  youngsters 
on  roller  skates.  I  stopped  to  make  a  closer 
inspection    of    the    ever-moving   insects.     Then 


I  noticed  that  in  nearly  every  instance  of 
what  I  had  taken  to  be  individual  flies  were 
two  or  more  insects  united  soaring  about  as 
one.  I  could  see  that  the  insects  were  slim- 
mer than  house  flies  and  were  about  a  half 
inch  or  1nore  in  length,  and  something  of  the 
form  of  the  mosquito.  With  a  gauze  insect 
collecting  net  I  soon  captured  some  of  them. 
On  every  occasion  the  captives  con- 
sisted of  a  united  group  of  three  flies,  but 
always  I  found  one  fly  to  be  dead  or  nearly 
so.  At  first  I  thought  the  flies  were  of  such 
delicate  nature  that  they  succumbed  to  the 
blow  of  the  cloth  in  netting  them,  but  after 
capturing  a  dozen  or  more  groups  and  find- 
ing only  one  dead  fly  in  each  case,  and  that 
the  other  two  flies  were  so  far  from  being 
injured  by  the  operation,  that  it  was  with 
some  difficulty  that  I  could  get  them  in  my 
fingers.  Now  I  noticed  that  the  dead  flies 
were  somewhat  smaller  and  apparently  of  a 
different  species,  although  similar  in  form. 
A  little  further  observation  of  the  action  of 
the  insects  dancing  round  and  about  me  in  the 
air  revealed  facts  that  put  an  altogether  dif- 
ferent interpretation  upon  the  actions  of  the 
assembled  flies.  Instead  of  an  innocent 
gathering  to  while  away  time  and  to  enjoy  the 
delights  of  a  most  agreeable  atmosphere,  a 
tragedy  on  a  large  scale  was  being  enacted. 
It  was  a  dance  indeed,  but  a  dance  of  death 
for  a  multitude  of  victims,  furnishing  a 
bloody  feast  for  the  ogreish  hosts,  which 
were  none  other  than  a  species  of  the  ferocious 
family  known  as  Robber  Flies. 

The  assemblage  in  certain  localities  as 
mentioned  was  due  to  the  presence  there  of 
their  victims,  which  in  turn  may  have  col- 
lected to  feed  upon  some  special  article  of 
food.  The  Robber  flies  soared  and  hovered 
around  like  hawks  and  swooped  down  upon 
their  victims  with  the  unerring  certainty  of 
their  prototypes.  But  unlike  most  other 
predaceous  forms  of  life,  instead  of  retiring 
to  some  place  where  they  could  alight  and  feed 
upon  their  victims  with  the  least  chance  of  in- 
terference or  interruption,  they  continue  to 
leisurely  fly  around  while  sucking  the  '  life 
juices  of  their  captives.  Another  remarkable 
feature  in  the  conduct  of  the  flies  in  their 
raids  for  food  is  that  as  soon  as  a  Robber 
fly  captures  an  insect  another  Robber  fly 
or  two  attach  themselves  to  the  victim  and 
proceed  to  join  in  the  feast,  the  duo  or  trio 
of  robbers  continuing  their  feasting  flight  as 
one  insect.  Apparently  the  selfishness  so 
commonly  manifested  over  food  by  all  ani- 
mal life  is  absent  here,  and  instead  there  is 
concordance  of  purpose  and  a  harmony  of 
wing  movement,  making  a  unity  of  action  that 
gives  the  blood-thirsty  duos  and  trios  the  ap- 
pearance while  in  flight  of  being  one  insect. 

Although  there  are  said  to  be  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  about  3000  species  of  this  family 
of  flies  known  to  entomologists,  varying 
greatly  in  form  and  size,  the  slender  mos- 
quito-formed flies  described  in  the  foregoing 
are  more  typical  of  the  voracious  tribe.  The 
family  title  of  Robber  flies  is  Asiliclae,  which 
Sharp    places    twenty-fourth    in    the   order     of 


66 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


Diptera,    thereby   showing   its    relation    to    the 
common  house  fly  as  well  as  to  other  flies. 

The  Robber  fly  is  equipped  by  nature  with 
a  strong  projecting  beak  which  it  thrusts 
into  its  victim.  Thus  it  is  used  as  a  wea- 
pon and  at  the  same  time  affords  the  means 
of  sucking  the  life  juice  of  its  captive.  Its 
feet  bear  strong  claws  to  aid  it  in  holding 
securely  the  insects  that  it  may  capture. 
Authorities  say  that  these  flies  are  among 
the  most  voracious  of  all  insects  and  that  they 
prey  on  all  other  forms  of  insects,  fearing 
none,  not  even  wasps  or  other  forms  armed 
with  defensive  weapons.  David  Sharp,  the 
well-known  English  entomologist,  in  writing 
about  the  Robber  flies  says:  "As  is  the  case 
with  so  many  other  insects  that  prey  on  liv- 
ing insects,  the  appetite  of  the  Asilidae 
seems  insatiable;  a  single  individual  has  been 
observed  to  kill  eight  moths  in  twenty 
minutes.  They  have  been  said  to  suck  the 
blood  of  verterbrates,  but  this  appears  to  be 
erroneous."  Therefore,  if  the  fears  of  the 
timid  excursionist  have  been  aroused  by  the 
story  of  the  ferocious  actions  of  the  Robber 
fly  in  Diablo  Canyon  they  may  be  put  aside, 
for  the  fly  does  not  attack  members  of  the 
human  family.  Its  presence  there  in  no  way 
detracts  from  the  charms  of  the  beauties  of 
the  canyon,  and  so  far  as  mankind  is  con- 
cerned is  not  even  an  annoyance.  It  is  a 
terror  to  other  members  of  the  insect  world 
only. 


Since  writing  the  foregoing  I  discovered  a 
very  much  smaller  species  of  the  Robber  fly 
on  the  roads  about  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain. These  insects  averaged  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  length.  They  were 
more  numerous  than  their  relatives  of  the 
mountain  side,  but  their  conduct  was  the 
same  in  congregating  in  numbers  and  flying 
and  circling  about  certain  portions  of  the 
road,  with  from  two  to  three  of  the  Robber 
flies  attached  to  one  victim,  which  I  uni- 
versally found  to  be  a  small  gnat.  Undoubt- 
edly the  little  Robbers  congregated  on  the 
lower  roads  because  there  was  where  the  vic- 
tims that  constituted  their  food  were  to  be 
found,  just  as  the  circumstances  appeared  on 
the  upper  road,  in  the  case  with  the  larger 
flies. 

A  few  weeks  later  when  near  the  summit 
of  the  mountain  I  saw  representatives  of  an- 
other specie  of  these  insects,  some  of  the 
very  largest  of  the  Robber  flies.  They  were 
about  an  inch  in  length,  with  the  same 
characteristic  slender  and  frail  structure. 
The  big  flies  were  not  present  in  any  great 
number;  nor  could  I  find  any  with  captive  in- 
sects or  feeding  otherwise.  Nor  were  they 
flying  about  as  were  both  of  the  smaller  kinds 
I  have  described,  but  seemed  to  be  resting  on 
the  brush,  rocks  and  grass,  and  took  to  the 
wing  only  when  disturbed. 


SKETCH   FROM  LIFE   OF  ONE   OF  THE   LARGER   SPECIES   OF   ROBBER   FLIES 

(Enlarged  four  times) 


CHAPTER  IX 


ASTUTE  BEETLES  AND  WASPS 

Peculiar  Gatherings  of  the  Former.     Foraging  for  Food  for  their 

Young  by  the  Latter 


Representatives  of  the  woodboring  families 
of  beetles  can  most  always  be  found  on  and 
about  a  newly  felled  tree,  in  the  spring, 
summer  and  early  autumn  months  of  the 
year.  Through  the  possession  of  some  pecu- 
liar sense  that  apprises  them  of  the  fact  that 
a  living  tree,  whether  uprooted  by  storm  or 
felled  by  a  woodsman's  ax,  supplies  wood  in 
proper  state  to  aid  in  propagation  of  their 
species,  they  seek  the  tree  for  the  purpose 
of  laying  their  eggs  in  the  crevices  of  the 
bark  in  a  very  short  time  after  the  tree  is 
down.  Whether  they  discover  the  presence 
of  the  fallen  timber  through  the  smell  of  the 
sap  so  noticeable  to  humans  about  a  freshly 
felled  tree,  or  are  endowed  with  some  sense 
of  recognition  that  is  beyond  human  exper- 
ience, I  cannot  say.  I  only  know  that  within 
a  very  short  time  after  a  tree  is  down  in  the 
summer  or  early  fall  it  is  not  unusual  to  find 
certain  beetles  in  great  numbers  in,  around 
and  on  the  branches,  big  limbs  and  trunk  of 
the  tree,  where  prior  to  that  time  a  thorough- 
search  of  the  section  thereabouts  would  not 
have    produced    a    single    specimen. 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  know 
to  what  distance  or  over  what  extent  of  ter- 
ritory the  knowledge  of  the  fallen  tree  is 
spread.  Information  on  which  to  form  an 
estimate  is  very  slight.  If  in  a  section  of 
country  where  it  is  next  to  an  impossibility 
to  find  a  longicorn  or  buprestid  beetle  be- 
fore a  tree  is  cut  down  and  in  ten  hours  or 
so  after  we  should  see  these  insects  about  the 
tree  by  the  dozens,  even  hundreds,  one  would 
naturally  think  that  at  least  some  of  them 
came  from  a  long  distance  and  that  a  wide 
expanse  of  territory  was  necessary  to  furnish 
so  many  visitors.  While  this  might  be  true 
it  is  possible  that  our  inability  to  find  them 
in  the  first  place  is  not  because  of  non- 
presence  of  the  insects,  but  for  the  reason  we 
are  not  sufficiently  clever  to  discover  their 
hiding  places. 

In  the  basement  of  our  quarters  at  Diablo, 
Contra  Costa  county,  a  supply  of  freshly  cut 
firewood  for  use  in  the  fireplace  was  stored 
in  the  fall.  The  wood  consisted  of  oak  cut 
in  blocks  or  logs  from  good  sized  limbs.  The 
basement  had  one  large  window  and  a  door- 
way that  was  protected  with  a  screen  door. 
On  the  first  real  warm  day  in  the  following 
August  I  discovered  while  on  a  visit  to  the 
basement  four  or  five  beetles  on  the  glass 
of  the  window  running  about  as  if  trying  to 
find  a  place  through  which  to  make  an  exit 
to   the   open   air.      I   found   them   to   represent 


two  species  of  the  Longicorn  group,  or  long- 
horns,  and  surmised  that  they  came  from  the 
wood  above  mentioned.  An  investigation  of 
the  wood  pile  proved  the  surmise  to  be  cor- 
rect. I  not  only  found  the  holes  with  the 
fresh  wood  dust  about  the  orifices,  but  dis- 
covered one  of  the  beetles  just  as  it  was 
making  its  exit  from  the  log. 

For  more  than  two  months  thereafter  this 
particular  kind  of  beetle  continued  to  come 
out  of  the  wood  then  go  either  to  the  window 
or  the  screen  door,  there  to  remain  until  they 
found  opportunity  to  get  outside  of  the  base- 
ment or  fell  victims  to  the  cyanide  bottle  of 
a  collector  of  Coleoptera.  On  several  oc- 
casions I  noticed  those  beetles  that  chose  the 
doorway  for  way  of  escape  endeavoring  to 
cut  a  hole  in  the  wire  screen  by  biting  the 
wire  with  their  mandibles.  Of  course  they 
were  unsuccessful.  While  their  jaws  were 
sharp  and  strong  enough  to  enable  them  to 
bore  a  hole  through  the  wood  that  had  con- 
fined them  after  emerging  from  the  state  of 
pupa,  they  were  unequal  to  the  task  of  cut- 
ting the  small  wires  of  the  screen.  However, 
the  effort  apparently  indicated  the  possession 
on  the  part  of  the  insect  of  sufficient  degree 
of  mentality  to  recognize  its  unnatural  im- 
prisonment. Its  confinement  in  the  log  of 
wood  after  its  change  from  the  larvae  form 
to  that  of  a  mature  beetle  was  a  natural  one 
and  undoubtedly  its  acts  in  effecting  release 
from  the  wooden  cell  were  instinctive,  but 
the  secondary  confinement  by  the  interposing 
wire  screen  was  probably  something  never  be- 
fore experienced  by  any  generation  of  this 
family  of  longicorns.  Consequently  the  in- 
stinctive powers  of  the  insect  alone  could  not 
have  been  expected  to  give  the  impulse  to  a 
rational  act  towards  effecting  its  release. 
Reason    must    have    intervened. 

It  is  the  theory  of  those  who  claim  that 
such  insects  have  no  power  of  reasoning  that 
all  of  their  acts  and  operations  are  directed 
solely  by  a  hereditary  instinct  that  gives  the 
impulse  for  the  routine  of  conduct  filling  the 
periods  of  their  existence,  and  having  once 
performed  any  one  of  these  acts  they  will  not 
and  cannot  be  expected  to  repeat  it. 

Such  was  the  conclusion  reached  by  that 
great  French  naturalist.  Henri  Fabre,  after 
several  experiments  and  observations  with 
the  mason  bee,  Sphex,  and  some  other  mem- 
bers of  the  wasp  family.  Notwithstanding 
the  care  taken  by  Fabre  in  his  observations 
and  the  accuracy  of  his  conclusions,  the  Peck- 
hams  of  our  own  country  experimenting  with 


68 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


a  0 


CO    > 

n 

o 
g 

« 

o 

M 

Q 

O 

o 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


69 


some  of  the  same  species  of  wasps  found  that 
Fabre's  conclusions  could  not  be  relied 
upon. 

In  concluding  the  details  of  observations  of 
the  conduct  of  the  longicorns  in  the  base- 
ment it  may  be  of  interest  to  note  their 
strange  and  wonderful  action  in  responding 
to  the  changes  in  climatic  conditions.  Let  it 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  basement  was 
partially  underground,  in  fact  one  side  and 
two  ends  were  almost  wholly  so,  consequently 
the  temperature  was  quite  uniform  and  varied 
but  little  with  the  changes  frequently  oc- 
curring outside.  Notwithstanding  this  con- 
dition the  beetles  would  emerge  from  their 
cells  in  the  wood  only  on  such  days  as  were 
warm  and  bright  outside.  When  days  oc- 
curred that  were  cool  with  an  overcast  sky, 
the  beetles  seemed  to  prefer  to  remain  in  the 
darkness  and  confinement  of  their  cells  than 
to  make  their  entrance  into  freedom  under 
such  climatic  condition,  and  none  were  to  be 
seen  on  the  window  or  door  screen.  This 
would  not  appear  so  remarkable  if  the  logs 
had  been  outside  where  the  sun's  rays  would 
beat  upon  them.  In  that  way  enough  heat 
might  be  absorbed  by  the  wood  to  acquaint 
the  insects  harbored  under  its  bark  with 
weather  conditions  that  existed  to  their  liking. 
But  of  course  that  was  impossible  in  the 
basement,  for  wood  is  a  poor  conductor  of  heat 
and  could  not  through  outside  conditions 
vary  in  temperature  to  any  degree  appreciable 
by  man.  Then  how  did  these  bettles  distin- 
guish between  warm  and  cool  days?  I  con- 
fess I  do  not  know,  and  the  only  solution 
that  occurs  to  me  now  is  unsusceptible  of 
proof,  and  that  is  the  insects  are  far  more 
sensitive  to  weather  changes  than  we  can 
comprehend  from  our  own  experience.  We 
do  know  that  the  sense  of  sight,  hearing, 
smell,  direction,  etc.,  is  developed  in  some 
other  forms  of  life  to  a  far  greater  degree 
and  is  of  more  delicate  nature  than  has  ever 
been  known  in  man. 

While  taking  a  stroll  on  one  of  the  back 
roads  in  the  northwestern  suburbs  of  Napa 
one  pleasant  day  in  the  middle  of  September, 
I  noticed  a  yellow  jacket,  Vespes  Germanica. 
scouting  around,  flying  a  few  inches  above 
the  ground,  as  if  in  search  of  game.  Finally 
it  made  several  close  circles  over  a  frag- 
ment of  a  twig  which  was  about  the  size  of 
a  man's  finger,  then  lit  upon  it.  From 
previous  observations  of  these  wasps  in 
search  of  game  I  at  once  concluded  that  this 
yellow  jacket  had  reason  to  believe  that  the 
twig  was  giving  shelter  to  some  kind  of  in- 
sect that  it  was  hunting  for.  I  got  down  on 
the  ground  as  near  by  as  possible  to  observe 
what  took  place  in  the  next  few  seconds. 
There  was  a  small  depression  in  the  earth 
along  one  side  of  the  twig  with  a  smaller  hole 
leading  under  the  twig.  Into  this  the  wasp 
made  an  effort  to  enter,  but  the  hole  was 
apparently  too  small  to  admit  much  more 
than  its  head.  Finding  that  it  could  not  enter 
and  secure  whatever  was  hidden  there  it  soon 
gave  up  the  effort  and  flew  away.  From  the 
maneuvers  of  the  wasp  I  felt  sure  some  kind 
of  an   insect   lay  under   the   protection   of   the 


twig  and  my  curiosity  was  aroused  to  know 
what  it  might  be,  but  before  I  could  remove 
it  to  ascertain  what  it  was,  I  was  astonished 
to  see  a  common-looking  fly  not  unlike  an 
ordinary  house-fly  come  part  way  out  of  the 
small  hole  to  a  position  where  it  could  get 
something  of  a  view  of  the  surroundings.  It 
apparently  knew  that  one  of  its  enemy  had 
made  an  attempt  on  its  life  and  curiosity  to 
see  and  know  what  it  was  had  prompted  it  to 
come  out  of  its  retreat  for  that  purpose.  It 
had  not  been  out  more  than  a  few  seconds 
when  unfortunately  I  made  some  movement 
that  caused  the  fly  to  disappear  in  a  flash 
back   down   in   the   hole. 

The  interesting  feature  of  the  incident  was 
the  remarkable  perceptive  power  of  the  yel- 
low jacket  in  locating  the  fly  in  hiding  under 
the  twig.  How  did  it  know  that  under  that 
particular  twig,  out  of  sight,  lay  a  morsel  of 
food  for  which  it  was  in  search  and  possibly 
in  need?  Its  preliminary  hovering  over  the 
spot  indicated  its  discovery  of  the  lair  of  the 
fly,  and  by  going  directly  to  the  hole  leading 
under  the  twig  immediately  after  alighting, 
was  convincing  that  some  kind  of  intelligence, 
or  actions  inspired  by  a  highly  developed  sense 
of  smell,  or  the  endowment  of  a  peculiar 
power,  without  intellect  or  reason,  which  some 
naturalists  describe  as  instinct,  directed  the 
whole  proceeding.  Which  is  a  question  that 
observers  have  been  disputing  for  years  past 
and  one  that  may  never  be  settled  scien- 
tifically. 

The  subsequent  act  of  the  fly  in  coming 
part  way  out  of  its  retreat  to  get  a  view  of 
the  intruder  that  had  threatened  its  existence 
was  but  little  less  in  interest  as  another  ex- 
hibition of  intellect  or  a  strangely  developed 
instinct. 

It  is  impossible,  so  far  as  my  knowledge 
of  the  subject  is  developed  at  the  present 
time,  to  accept  the  theory  that  such  insects 
mentioned  in  the  foregoing  have  no  mentality 
whatever,  and  that  such  of  their  acts  coincid- 
ing with  the  acts  of  animal  life  of  higher 
order  with  known  brain  power  under  like  con- 
ditions, are  only  the  impulses  of  instinct.  To 
adopt  this'  idea  is  to  acknowledge  that  the 
brain  with  which  nature  has  supplied  their 
organization  has  no  other  function  than  that 
arising  from  connection  with  the  nerve 
ganglia. 

No  close  observer  of  the  doings  of  the  in- 
dividuals of  lower  forms  of  life  can  be  un- 
mindful of  the  fact  that  instinct,  developed 
to  a  wonderous  degree,  is  the  directing  force 
responsible  for  the  main  work  of  their 
existence  and  the  systematic  and  peculiar 
methods  followed  in  its  accomplishment. 
However,  some  of  these  observers  do  not  be- 
lieve that  the  possession  of  such  instinct  pre- 
cludes consciousness  and  the  ability  to  reason 
to   some   extent. 

Perhaps  when  the  question  is  solved,  if  it 
ever  is,  it  will  be  found  that  the  solution  lies 
somewhere  between  the  claims  of  the  ex- 
tremists  of  both   sides. 

On  one  August  afternoon  at  Diablo,  while 
walking  in  the  hay  stubble  near  the  house. 
I  noticed    a   Vespa    Germanica  (yellow  jacket) 


70 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


*****  ^C-s 


\  I. 


/      ^«-***sv 


*■-■**& 


S 

PS  fc 

H    H 
O    H 

-     !* 

I  s 

►   O 

i 
£ 

o 
u 

02 
ft 
BQ 


J^"Mxv^<*^iiiiUi^<^-^^ 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


71 


scouting  around  on  the  wing,  flying  low 
among  the  stubble.  I  concluded  it  was  hunt- 
ing for  food  for  its  young  so  watched  it 
closely.  Finally  I  saw  it  pounce  down  upon 
an  object  partially  hidden  from  my  view  by 
pieces  of  straw.  The  attack  was  made  within 
four  feet  from  where  I  stood.  I  quickly 
dropped  to  the  ground  that  I  might  get  a 
near  view  of  the  action.  I  saw  that  the  wasp 
had  seized  an  insect  as  large  as  itself  and 
plainly  witnessed  the  application  of  its  sting 
twice,  curving  its  abdomen  under  the  vic- 
tim both  times.  Without  any  delay  the  wasp 
severed  the  head  of  the  captive  insect  and 
flew  off  with  it  in  a  northeasterly  direction. 
I  then  picked  up  the  remains  and  found  that 
the    victim    was   a    domestic    or    honey    bee. 

From  previous  observations  in  similar  cases 
I  concluded  the  wasp,  knowing  the  bee,  intact, 
was  too  large  to  carry  off  to  its  nest,  had 
dismembered  it  to  make  the  task  easier,  and 
would  masticate  the  parts  to  put  them  in 
condition  for  food  for  its  grubs  while  on  the 
journey  home,  therefore  in  time  would  return 
for  the  remains  of  the  victim.  In  about  five 
minutes  it  came  back  and  this  time  it  quickly 
cut  off  the  abdomen  and  flew  away  with  it. 
In  about  ten  minutes  more  it  returned  again 
and  picked  up  the  thorax,  all  that  remained  of 
the  bee,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  six  feet  or 
more  flew  off  in  the  same  direction  as  be- 
fore. On  its  return  trips  it  gave  no  evidence 
of  trouble  or  difficulty  in  locating  its  vic- 
tim. It  came  flying  close  to  the  ground 
zigzagging  about  six  or  eight  inches,  finally 
dropping  at  the  exact  spot.  After  its  second 
trip  I  killed  a  common  house  fly  and  laid  it 
down  within  a  couple  of  inches  of  the  re- 
mains of  the  bee.  In  a  moment  or  so  I  saw 
another  wasp  scouting  around  among  the 
stubble  in  the  same  manner  observed  in  the 
first  one.  It  soon  discovered  the  fly  and 
bee,  which  caused  me  to  think  it  was  the 
owner  of  the  bee.  However,  when  it  lit  it  only 
nosed  the  fly  and  bee  and  then  flew  away. 
While  pondering  over  the  unexpected  action 
of  the  visitor  I  noticed  the  first  wasp  on  its 
way  back.  Ordinarily  yellow  jackets  do  not 
appear  so  considerate  of  property  rights; 
they  seem  ready  to  take  anything  in  the  meat 
line  when  and  wherever  they  find  it,  though 
this  practice  may  be  due  to  the  character  of 
ownership.  They  may  have  the  habit  of  re- 
spect of  title  where  it  rests  in  one  of  their 
own  kind  as  instanced  above,  and  not  be  so 
particular  when  it  is  otherwise. 

On  the  same  day  while  passing  a  bank  which 
was  thickly  covered  with  blackberry  vines,  my 
attention  was  attracted  to  a  slight  fluttering 
of  a  large  insect  which  appeared  to  be 
entangled  in  a  thinly  spun  web  of  a  spider. 
Now,  I  thought,  something  is  about  to  take 
place  that  will  prove  of  interest  as  well  as 
yield  some  information.  I  stepped  up  close, 
moving  as  slowly  and  quietly  as  possible,  so 
as  not  to  have  the  intrusion  of  my  presence 
influence  the  event  or  what  might  take  place. 
Upon  examination  I  found  that  a  wasp  of  the 
family  Polistes  was  in  among  the  threads  of 
the  web  hanging  on  to  them  with  the  middle 
and   hind   legs,   while   she  was   using  the   pair 


of  fore  legs  and  mandibles,  or  jaws,  in  secur- 
ing possession  of  a  small  baby  grasshopper  that 
had  become  helplessly  entangled  in  the  web. 
The  wasp  finally  succeeded  in  getting  through 
the  meshes  of  the  web  to  a  position  where 
she  could  seize  the  little  grasshopper.  It 
was  apparently  dead.  Whether  the  wasp  had 
stung  it  to  death  or  it  had  been  previously 
killed  by  the  spider  and  left  on  the  web,  I 
could  not  tell.  As  soon  as  the  Polistes  got 
hold  of  it  she  began  to  sever  the  abdomen 
from  the  rest  of  the  body  of  the  insect.  She 
was  not  nearly  so  clever  in  this  butchering 
process  as  the  yellow  jacket.  In  the  operation 
she  required  more  minutes  than  the  ger- 
manica  did  seconds.  It  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  the  latter  wasp  is  better  equipped  with 
tools  for  that  kind  of  work,  in  the  shape  and 
keenness  of  her  mandibles., 

When  Mrs.  Polistes  finally  succeeded  in 
separating  the  body  she  took  a  good  hold  of 
the  chosen  part  with  her  jaws  and  began 
her  efforts  to  extricate  herself  from  the 
spider's  web.  This  was  no  easy  job.  She  did 
not  appear  excited  nor  did  she  show  any  evi- 
dence of  fear  of  trouble  in  getting  out.  She 
seemed  to  understand  just  what  was  neces- 
sary to  do  and  how  to  go  about  it.  Her 
progress  was  rather  slow  and  at  times  she 
found  it  necessary  to  use  the  propelling  power 
of  her  wings  as  an  aid  in  the  operation.  The 
unusual  shaking  of  the  web  brought  the  spider 
running  out  to  find  what  kind  of  game  had 
been  entangled  in  her  net.  However,  the 
sight  of  the  wasp  quickly  brought  her  to  a 
standstill  and  she  remained  stationary  at  a 
safe  distance  watching  proceedings.  Finally 
the  wasp  got  past  all  of  the  troublesome 
threads  and  attempted  to  fly  away  with  her 
booty,  but  a  strong  thread  still  attached  to 
the  fragment  of  the  grasshopper  brought  her 
to  standstill,  though  on  the  wing.  With 
engine  in  reverse  she  backed  and  tugged  until 
finally  the  thread  yielded  to  the  persistent 
strain. 

The  wasp  seemed  somewhat  exhausted  from 
her"  exertions,  for  she  lit  on  a  broad  leaf 
within  a  foot  of  the  spiderweb  and  proceeded 
to  brush  and  clean  her  body  with  her  legs  and 
feet,  all  the  time  with  her  jaws  holding  on 
to  the  morsel  that  she  had  worked  so  hard  to 
obtain.  After  the  cleaning  process  was  com- 
pleted she  proceeded  to  eat  out  the  soft  part 
of  the  grasshopper  s  abdomen,  discarding  the 
undigestable  outside  covering.  A  remarkable 
feature  of  the  proceedings  was  the  way  she 
held  the  part  with  her  forefeet  while  she  used 
her  mandibles  to  dig  out  the  meat.  The  action 
reminded  me  of  a  squirrel  eating  a  nut.  The 
middle  and  hind  pairs  of  legs  gave  all  the 
support  needed  to  her  body,  so  she  was  free 
to  use  the  pair  of  fore  legs  with  their  feet  as 
one  would  his  arms  and  hands,  which  she 
did  most  cleverly.  Upon  completing  the  work 
she  flew  away. 

I  find  very  little  in  the  accounts  of  other 
observers  as  to  the  character  of  food  that  the 
Polistes  eat.  Probably  so  because  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  finding  out.  I  have  seen  this  species 
of  wasp  on  fruit,  especially  ripe,  sweet  fruit, 
apparently    partaking    of    the   juices.      I    have 


72 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


seen  them  more  frequently  and  in  greater 
numbers  hovering  about  and  alighting  on  the 
outer  leaves  and  branches  of  oak  trees  that 
seemed  to  be  infested  with  minute  insects;  but 
in  neiher  case  could  I  determine  beyond  doubt 
whether  the  wasps  were  gathering  food  for 
the  young  or  were  eating  for  their  own  sus- 
tenance. The  only  time  I  ever  saw  a  Polistes 
consume  any  food  and  felt  sure  there  could 
be  no  mistake  about  it  was  in  the  case  of  the 
incident  just  related  of  the  Polistes  taking  the 
baby  grasshopper  out  of  the  spider  web;  but 
even  then  it  might  have  been  preparing  it  for 
its  young. 

Lutz  says  the  food  of  the  Polistes  consists  of 
"chewed-up  animal  matter,  such  as  caterpil- 
lars, but  some  species  use  honey  and  pollen 
also."  Kellogg  says  the  "food  consists  of  par- 
tially masticated  remains  of  various  insects 
pursued  and  killed  by  the  queen  and  work- 
ers."      Comstock    says    the    entire    family    to 


which  these  wasps  belong  are  predaceous, 
and  they  "feed  their  young  upon  insects  which 
they  have  masticated.  These  wasps  are  also 
fond  of  sweets  of  flowers,  the  juices  of  fruits, 
and  honey  dew."  Sharp  states  that  the  queen 
wasp  first  supplies  her  young  "with  saccharine 
matter  procured  from  flowers  or  fruits,  but 
soon  gives  them  a  stronger  diet  of  insect 
meat,  reduced  to  a  pulp  by  means  of  the 
mandibles;  this  is  offered  to  the  larvae  which 
are  said,  to  stretch  out  their  heads  to  the 
mother  to  receive  the  food  after  the  manner 
of  nestling  birds."  The  Peckhams  say  the 
Polistes  "feed  their  young  on  animal  food" 
without  bringing  into  play  their  stings  to  aid 
in  the   capture   of  insects  for  the   purpose. 

Here  is  presented  considerable  testimony  as 
to  what  kind  of  food  the  larva  of  the  polistes 
are  fed  upon,  but  not  much  as  to  what  the 
mature  wasp  after  it  changes  from  the  grub 
form   relies   upon    to    sustain    its   existence. 


<^ft@> 


•-VVW 


CHAPTER  X 


STORIES  ABOUT  DIGGING  WASPS 

An  Ammophila  that  Accomplished  an  Astonishing  Job  in  Masonry  Work 
•  A  Collision  with  a^Priononyx  and  the  Result 


This  summer,  while  passing  considerable 
time  at  Diablo,  Contra  Costa  county,  I  noted 
the  presence  in  the  flower  gardens  of  an  un- 
usual number  of  species  of  wasps  and  bees. 
It  occurred  to  me  that  these  insects  being  so 
common  that  later  on  I  ought  to  be  able  to 
find  their  nesting  places  and  thereby  have 
opportunity  to  observe  and  study  acts  of  their 
home  life.  I  knew  from  my  reading  on  the 
subject  where  to  look  for  the  nesting  places 
of  the  species  that  are  least  seen  in  or  about 
human  habitations  and  are  almost  wholly  un- 
known to  the  common  public,  such  as  the 
Halictus,  Ovinia  and  Megachile  of  the  bee  fam- 
ily and  the  Eumonidae,  Crabonidae,  Cerceris 
and  Ammophila,  of  what  is  commonly  known 
as  the  Wasp  family.  I  was  particularly  desirous 
of  finding  an  Ammophila  "at  home"  and  ac- 
quainting myself  from  personal  observation 
how  she  constructed  her  abiding  place  and 
provided  for  her  progeny.  The  members  of 
this  genus  are  easily  recognized,  being  about 
the  most  slender,  long-legged  and  short - 
winged  of  the  tribe.  Some  of  them  are  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  length.  I  found  them 
among  the  most  numerous  of  the  visitants  of 
the  flower  gardens  and  the  hope  of  having  my 
curiosfty  satisfied   was   correspondingly  raised. 

I  had  read  in  the  details  of  the  life  history 
of  this  particular  insect  as  given  by  two  ob- 
servers that  it  was  the  habit  of  one  species  of 
Ammophila  to  excavate  its  nest  in  sand  beds, 
therefore  I  began  my  search  by  inspecting  and 
watching  at  all  the  sandy  places  I  could  find. 
After  a  couple  of  weeks  had  passed  and  I  had 
about .  given  up  expectation  of  meeting  the 
lady  wasp  as  I  had  wished,  one  day  in  the 
latter  part  of  July,  soon  after  lunch,  while 
walking  over  a  piece  of  ground  that  had  been 
leveled  off  for  a  house  foundation  in  a  lot 
adjacent  to  our  place,  I  discovered  an  Am- 
mophila in  the  act  of  going  into  a  shallow  hole 
in  solid  ground.  I  afterwards  learned  that 
this  species  of  the  family  sought  this  kind  of 
soil  for  its  nest. 

There  was  no  mistake  about  the  identifica- 
tion. It  was  certainly  the  wasp  I  was  looking 
for,  but  was  she  making  a  nest?  This  was 
hard  ground  full  of  little  pieces  of  rock  and 
no  sand.  I  said  to  myself,  if  she  has  no  ob- 
jections I  will  try  to  discover  what  she  is 
doing,  if  not  making  a  nest,  in  soil  so  differ- 
ent from  that  credited  to  her  habit. 

The  hole  at  this  time  was  apparently  abput 
an  inch  and  a  half  deep  on  an  incline  of  about 
45  degrees.  I  stood  at  a  distance  of  about  15 
feet  away  from  the  place  of  her  operations 
when  I  first  discovered  her.     From  this  posi- 


tion  I   saw   her  go   into  the   hole   and   remain 
about    ten    seconds,    then    emerge    backwards, 
taking  the  wing  as  she  got  out,  rising  about  a 
foot   above   the   ground,   going  not  more   than 
16  or  18  inches  away,  then  back  to  the  hole. 
This  act   was   repeated   several   times,   when   I 
concluded    she   was   excavating   a   place   for   a 
nest   and   the  trips   out   were   for  the   purpose 
of  disposing  of  the  material  excavated.    While 
she  was  in   the   ground   I  would   move  a  foot 
or  two   at  a  time  hearer  to  the   point   of  her 
operations.     My  presence  did  not  seem  to  at- 
tract her  attention   until  I   reached  a  position 
of  about  four  feet  from  her  hole;   then  when 
she  came  out,  instead   of  going  back  immedi- 
ately,   she    flew    out,     making     a     wide     circle 
around    the   hole,   then    once    or   twice   around 
me;   then  lit  on  the  ground,  lying  flat.     After 
about  10  seconds  she  flew  to  the  hole,  making 
a  small  circle  or  two  over  it  and  then  resumed 
her   work,    apparently    having   assured    herself 
that   my   presence   bore   no   menace.      While   I 
felt  sure  that  she  was  bringing  out  the  exca- 
vated   material    in    the     short    trips     she     was 
making,  I  could  not  see  the  operation  of  drop- 
ping the   material,   so   I  concluded   to   make   a 
nearer  approach  and  finally  obtained  a  sitting 
position    about    two    and    one-half    feet    from 
the  hole.    When   she  came  out  and  found   me 
so    near    she    appeared     quite     agitated.      She 
flew    around    me    several     times,     then     made 
larger   circles   as   if   to   see   if   there   was"  any- 
thing dangerous  connected  with  this  intrusion. 
She    lit    on    the    ground    several    times,    some- 
times   near    and    other     times     some     distance 
away,  always  lying  flat,  a  position  I  never  saw 
any  of  the  wasp  family  assume  before.      (The 
Peckhams   noted   this   peculiar     action      by    a 
Priononyx  wasp  as  new  to  them.)     I  remained 
without    movement,    fearful    that    I    had    been 
too  impatient  and  that  my  disturbance  would 
cause  the  insect  to  cease  her  work;   so  I  was 
greatly  pleased  to  see  her  finally  resume  labor 
in    the    hole.      I    could    now    not   only   see    the 
pieces  of  dirt  and  rock,  but  could  hear  them 
drop  as  she  threw  them  out  while  on  the  wine:. 
I    timed    her    trips — they    were    seldom    less 
than  10  seconds  or  longer  than  15  seconds.     I 
estimated  that  she  averaged  about  12  seconds 
to  each   load,   which   would   be   at   the  rate   of 
about  300  in  an  hour.  Judging  from  the  sizes 
of  the   pieces  I  recovered  as  she  threw  them 
out,    I   concluded   she   made   at    least   an    inch 
and  a  half  in  depth  in  an  hour.      Some  of  the 
pieces  were  not  larger  than  a  pin-head,  while 
occasionally   she   would    drag   out   a   fragment 
of   rock    too    heavy   to     fly     off    with.     These 
would  be  left  within  four  or  five  inches  of  the 


74 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


ft 


i     ,  ] 


y  , 

£     If 


ii 


^ 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


75 


entrance  of  the  nest.  Two  or  three  times  after 
she  had  resumed  her  labors  she  took  occasion 
on  her  outward  trips  to  make  further  inspec- 
tion of  my  person  by  circling  around,  then 
alighting  on  the  ground,  eyeing  me.  When  ap- 
parently satisfied  that  my  presence  meant  no 
interference  with  her  plans  she  would  resume 
the  work  of  excavation.  In  20  minutes  she 
had  deepened  the  hole  so  that  when  she  went 
down  she  was  entirely  out  of  sight;  all  of  her 
actions  were  rapid  and  when  on  the  ground 
were  accompanied  by  nervous  flipping  of  the 
wings. 

While  watching  Mrs.  Ammophila's  flights 
out  of  the  hole,  flipping  her  loads  away  from 
the  entrance,  scattering  the  debris  so  there 
would  be  no  accumulation  in  any  one  place 
to  mark  the  presence  of  her  nest,  then  her 
dash  back,  all  with  such  lightning-like  speed 
that  it  was  with  difficulty  I  followed  her  ac- 
tions, I  became  aware  there  was  another  in- 
tensely interesting  feature  of  the  performance 
going  on  before  me.  A  small  insect,  a  species 
of  fly,  somewhat  smaller  than  the  ordinary 
house  fly,  was  present  and  also  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  operations  of  the  wasp.  First  let 
me  explain  the  purpose  of  the  presence  of  the 
little  pest,  then  there  will  be  more  interest  in 
detailing  its  actions.  It  seems  it  is  the  habit 
of  this  fly,  when  it  can,  to  deposit  an  egg,  or 
eggs,  on  the  caterpillar  thta  the  Ammophila 
captures  and  stores  in  her  nest.  Of  course 
the  fly  is  no  match  in  a  scrap  with  the  wasp, 
and  it  is  compelled  to  accomplish  its  object  by 
stealth.  It  seemed  to  equal  the  wasp  in  intelli- 
gence and  rapidity  of  action.  By  its  maneuvers 
on  this  occasion  it  appeared  to  be  trying  to 
enter  the  hole  during  the  brief  absence  of  the 
owner  or  it  may  have  been  only  making 
momentary  observations  of  the  progress  of  the 
work  of  the  wasp  so  as  to  be  on  hand  at  the 
proper  moment.  For  a  greater  part  of  the  time 
it  occupied  positions  not  more  than  five  or  six 
inches  from  the  hole.  From  these  points  it 
would  fly  to  the  mouth  of  the  hole  but  get 
back  out  of  the  way  before  the  return  of  the 
owner,  and  several  times  while  the  wasp  was 
working  down  in  the  excavation  the  little  pest 
would  fly  to  the  hole  and  hover  over  the 
mouth  until  the  buzzing  of  the  wasp  gave 
notice  of  its  coming  out,  then  it  would  retreat 
as  before.  By  the  quick  alteration  of  the 
position  of  the  fly,  first  this  way,  then  that, 
it  could  be  seen  that  it  was  keenly  watching 
every  movement  of  the  wasp,  but  it  took  care 
not  to   get  within   reach   of  it. 

By  this  time  I  had  acquired  a  reclining 
position  with  my  head  barely  a  foot  from  the 
ground,  and  the  little  fly  very  accommodat- 
ingly on  one  of  its  returns  from  the  hole  lit  on 
the  ground  under  my  eyes.  I  not  only  had  a 
chance  to  note  its  peculiarities  and  possibly 
determine  the  species,  but  more  clearly  per- 
ceived the  cunning  and  artful  character  it 
possessed.  With  lightning-like  rapidity  it  fol- 
lowed every  movement  of  the  wasp  and  when 
the  latter  disappeared  in  the  hole  the  fly  in 
a  flash  was  hovering  over  the  place. 

I  spread  a  piece  of  cloth  on  the  ground 
within  the  radius  of  the  distribution  of  the 
debris  the  wasp  was  bringing  out  so  I  might 


recover  some  of  the  material  she  was  exca- 
vating. When  she  came  out  and  saw  the  cloth 
she  appeared  somewhat  disturbed  and  flew 
around  it  several  times,  then  lit  upon  it  and 
walked  around  until  apparently  satisfied  it 
boded  no  harm.  Some  of  the  material  was 
earth  and  some  rock,  and  in  size  ranged  from 
the  dimensions  of  a  pin-head  to  a  pea.  I  was 
interested  to  know  how  she  held  the  stuff 
while  carrying  it  out,  whether  by  her  man- 
dibles, her  feet  and  legs,  or  by  the  aid  of  both. 
While  she  was  on  the  wing  her  actions  were 
so  rapid  that  it  was  impossible  to  determine, 
but  finally  she  came  slowly  backing  out  of 
the  hole  with  a  load  that  appeared  to  be  about 
all  she  could  handle.  This  proved  to  be  a 
piece  of  rock  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  She  carried  it  free  from  the  ground 
in  her  mandibles,  which  looked  like  miniature 
ice  tongs.  This  and  what  I  afterwards  saw 
showed  that  her  mandibles  only  were  the 
appendages  utilized.  It  was  marvelous  to  see 
how  dexterous  and  skillful  she  was  in  their 
use. 

As  I  understood  that  the  Ammophila  digs  a 
hole  only  about  three  inches  deep,  I  thought 
my  wasp  must  be  nearly  through  with  that 
part  of  her  work.  Then  again  it  was  getting 
late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  heat  of  the 
day  had  passed  and  the  majority  of  the  wasp 
family  cease  work  and  seek  some  secluded 
place  where  they  remain  until  the  warmth  of 
another  day  invites  them  to  further  activities. 
So  I  felt  sure  the  monotony  of  the  digging 
operations  would  soon  end  and  I  should  wit- 
ness some  other  of  the  intelligent  acts  of  this 
curious  insect.  The  increased  activity  of  the 
little  fly  in  following  the  movements  of  the 
wasp  indicated  it  shared  in  the  same  thought. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait  for  Mrs.  Ammo- 
phila to  flip  out  her  last  load  of  dirt.  When 
that  happened,  instead  of  going  down  into 
the  hole,  she  lit  near  the  mouth  of  it  and 
walked  around  rapidly  with  a  nervous  flipping 
of  her  wings,  and  suddenly  seized  a  pebble 
nearly  as  large  as  the  end  of  my  little  finger 
and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  carried 
it  to  the  hole  and  dropped  it  into  the  entrance. 
The  piece  of  rock  lodged  in  the  mouth  of 
the  hole  a  quarter  of  an  inch  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  outside.  Now  came  further 
exhibition  of  the  wonderful  mental  power  pos- 
sessed by  the  wasp.  To  complete  the  filling 
up  of  the  mouth  of  the  opening  and  make  it 
uniform  with  the  surrounding  surface  of  the 
ground  required  some  further  work  on  her 
part.  Apparently  she  deemed  it  necessary  to 
protect  the  nest  from  invasion  by  other  insects 
to  close  the  entrance  tight  by  a  bit  of  masonry 
work  and  thus  remove  all  indication  of  the 
existence  of  her  domicile.  This  work  she  com- 
pleted in  a  way  that  astonished  me  in  the 
rapidity  of  action  and  the  mechanical  perfec- 
tion of  its  execution.  Out  of  the  numerous 
little  fragments  of  broken  rock  lying  within  a 
radius  of  four  or  five  inches  of  the  entrance 
to  the  hole  she  selected  five  pieces,  three  small 
and  two  larger.  She  walked  quickly  around 
among  the  fragments  looking  for  the  pieces  of 
the  size  needed  and  without  hesitation  or  de- 
lay  picked   them   up    one   by   one   and   carried 


76 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


****" 


1    z 


O 

E-i 

x 

B 

c 

o 

g 

3 

o 

Q 

Oh 


■    .  ■        ■  ■■■.-■         ::■.:::■• 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


77 


them  to  the  hole,  and  when  the  last  fragment 
was  dropped  into  its  place  the  point  of  a  knife 
blade  could  not  have  found  an  entrance  be- 
tween any  of  the  pieces.  In  other  words,  she 
had  fitted  them  so  perfectly  as  to  leave  no 
chinks  and  with  a  surface  even  with  the 
ground.  All  of  which  was  accomplished  in 
but  little  more  than  10  seconds  of  time. 

It  was  evident  that  she  had  completed  her 
work  of  building  this  nest,  or  had  simply  quit 
work  for  the  day  and  closed  the  hole  to  shut 
out  intruders.  According  to  the  records  of 
observers  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  many  of  the 
wasps  to  work  only  during  the  heat  of  the  day. 
Now  for  the  first  time  feverish  haste  in  f  her 
actions  were  suspended.  She  walked  around 
the  hole  two  or  three  times,  not  going  more 
than  four  or  five  inches  away,  then  enlarged 
the  circuit  in  a  couple  of  more  trips.  While 
doing  this  she  stopped  to  examine  two  stalks 
of  straw,  one  prone,  the  other  erect.  The  one 
lying  on  the  ground  she  straddled  and  walked 
along  its  entire  length  with  her  antennae  rap- 
idly working  as  if  feeling  for  something  on 
the  straw  that  she  could  not  see.  The  stalk 
that  was  standing  erect  she  climbed  for  about 
eight  inches,  using  her  antennae  in  the  same 
manner  as  with  the  other  straw.  The  sig- 
nificance of  these  actions  I  could  not  deter- 
mine unless  it  was  to  familiarize  herself  with 
the  location  of  the  nest,  for  during  the  short 
and  longer  circuits  she  made  two  or  three 
trips  to  the  place  of  entrance  to  her  nest  al- 
though there  was  nothing,  as  far  as  I  could 
see,  to  indicate  its  location  other  than  the 
five  fragments  of  rock  so  closely  laid  to- 
gether as  to  appear  almost  as  one.  She 
finally  extended  her  circle  to  twenty  feet  or 
more,  lit  once  or  twice  on  the  ground,  then 
flew    away. 

The  little  fly  had  remained  in  the  neigh- 
borhood all  the  time  while  the  wasp  was 
inspecting  the  surroundings  but  wisely  kept 
out  of  her  way,  but  when  the  wasp  started 
off  on  the  large  and  last  circle  the  little  ras- 
cal seemed  to  know  the  coast  was  free  from 
danger,  for  it  flew  to  the  hole  and  remained 
a  few  seconds  while  it  inspected  the  condi- 
tions. If  it  had  hoped  to  find  an  opening 
large  enough  to  admit  its  tiny  body  it  was 
disappointed,  for  it,  too,  flew  away.  I 
waited  for  more  than  an  hour  for  the  pos- 
sible return  of  the  wasp,  thinking  she  might 
have  closed  the  nest  temporarily  while  off 
hunting  for   a  caterpillar. 

Six  o'clock  coming  and  the  dinner  bell  ring- 
ing I  gave  up  further  watch  for  the  day  but 
first  took  occasion  to  mark  the  location  of 
the  spot  that  I  might  resume  observations  the 
following  day.  I  made  a  diagram  also  of  the 
five  pieces  of  rock  and  the  way  they  were 
fitted   into   place. 

The  next  day  was  quite  cool  and  unfavor- 
able for  the  presence  of  wasps.  However,  I 
remained  about  four  hours,  two  hours  before 
and  the  two  hours  after  lunch,  near  the  site 
of  the  nest,  without  the  satisfaction  of  noting 
the  reappearance  of  Mrs.  Ammophila.  I  re- 
peatedly examined  the  "masonry"  work  of 
the  closed  hole  to  see  if  it  had  been  visited 
and  the  nest  entered  while  my  attention  was 


possibly  diverted  to  some  other  part  of  the 
grounds,  but  at  the  close  of  the  day  the  en- 
trance of  the  hole  was  exactly  as  the  wasp 
left  it   the   evening   before. 

During  the  forenoon  of  the  next  or  third 
day  of  observation  I  repeatedly  visited  the 
location  of  the  nest  but  found  the  "masonry" 
intact.  It  had  not  been  disturbed.  The 
day  was  quite  warm,  really  hot  enough  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  almost  every  living 
thing  that  revels  in  high  temperatures.  Im- 
mediately after  having  my  lunch  I  made  an- 
other trip  to  the  lot.  As  I  bent  over  to  ex- 
amine the  closed  entrance  of  the  nest  I  dis- 
turbed a  little  fly  that  was  flitting  around 
the  place,  not  moving  more  than  a  foot  or  so 
at  a  time.  It  was  one  of  the  species  men- 
tioned in  the  account  of  the  first  day's  ob- 
servation. I  concluded  that  the  presence  of 
the  little  pirate  indicated  that  Mrs.  Ammo- 
phila had  come  back  or  was  expected  home 
with  her  game,  and  probably  I  would  now 
have  an  opportunity  to  see  what  kind  of  cat- 
erpillar she  would  have  and  how  she  disposed 
of  it  in  the  nest,  etc.  However,  a  lively 
buzzing  about  my  head  notified  me  of  the 
error  in  my  conclusions,  and  that  the  fly  was 
waiting  for  another  wasp — the  one  that  was 
flying  around  me.  From  the  position  of  the 
fly  and  the  actions  of  the  wasp  I  thought  she 
must  be  making  a  nest  close  by.  I  soon  de- 
tected the  spot,  not  more  than  eighteen 
inches  from  the  nest  of  the  Ammophila.  I 
had  almost  stepped  upon  the  entrance  while 
the  owner  was  down  in  the  hole.  I  moved  a 
step  or  so  away.  The  wasp  seemed  satisfied 
with  the  extent  of  my  compliance  with  her 
request  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  her  opera- 
tions, for  she  soon  lit  on  the  ground  and  went 
down  the  hole  and  later  backed  out  with  a 
scrap  of  dirt  or  rock,  dumping  it  within  an 
inch  or  eo  of  the  entrance.  She  made  one 
or  two  more  trips  of  this  kind,  then  stood 
outside  and  kicked  the  stuff  backwards,  scat- 
tering the  fragments  away  from  around  the 
entrance.  She  at  no  time  took  to  the  wing 
in  removing  or  handling  the  stuff  excavated. 
She  brought  it  out  with  her  mandibles  but 
after  that  disposed  of  it  with  her  feet.  This 
difference  in  working  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  different  species  of  wasp.  It 
was  not  quite  as  long  as  the  Ammophila  but 
more  stoutly  built,  body  black  with  a  red 
abdomen  and  shiny  blue-back  wings.  It  was 
what  I  took  to  be  a  Priononyx.  While  dif- 
fering in  appearance,  the  species  is  closely 
related  to  the  Ammophila,  in  fact  it 
belongs  to  the  same  family  in  the  order  of 
Hymenoptera.  While  the  former  always 
stores  her  nest  with  caterpillars,  the  latter 
uses   only  grasshoppers  for  the  purpose. 

After  taking  a  few  more  loads  of  dirt  from 
the  hole  she  came  out  and  made  a  brief  sur- 
vey of  things  and  then  proceeded  to  close  up 
the  entrance  by  kicking  in  the  dirt  that  lay 
within  a  couple  of  inches  of  the  place.  She 
completed  the  work  by  leveling  the  surface 
so  there  was  no  depression  or  other  indica- 
tion of  the  presence  of  the  underground  nest. 
Then  she  flew  away.  I  waited  and  watched 
some  time  for  her  return  hoping  that  I  would 


78 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


MASONRY    WORK — ROOF    OF   A    WASP    HOLE 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


79 


see  her  bring  the  game  which  her  kind  is  ac- 
customed to  place  in  their  nest,  but  she  did 
not  come  back  that  day  nor  did  I  see  any- 
thing of  her  during  the  next  three  days.  I 
concluded  to  open  the  nest  thinking  that  she 
had  probably  already  performed  that  inter- 
esting part  of  the  work  and  that  the  digging 
that  I  saw  her  doing  was  the  putting  on  of 
some  finishing  touches  she  thought  necessary 
after  storing  the  food  for  her  progeny. 

My  excavation  showed  the  hole  with  the 
enlargement  at  the  bottom  to  be  about  five 
inches  deep  on  an  incline  of  about  forty-five 
degrees.  At  the  bottom  I  found  a  locust, 
which  in  this  country  is  improperly  called 
grasshopper.  It  was  not  paralyzed  but  dead 
beyond  question.  While  holding  it  in  my 
hand  for  examination  two  small  legless  larva 
crawled  out  of  the  body  of  the  insect.  Wheth- 
er these  came  from  the  hatching  of  the  eggs 
of  the  wasp  or  originated  from  the  tres- 
passing of  some  fly  I  could  not  then  deter- 
mine. I  placed  the  locust  and  the  larva  in  a 
small  box  to  see  what  would  develop.  The 
result  was  the  hatching  of  some  small  flies 
like  those  I  saw  hovering  around  the  wasp 
while   it  was   at   work   making   its   nest. 

As  the  Ammophila  had  made  no  return  to 
her  nest  I  concluded  to  open  it.  I  found  the 
hole  to  be  nearly  four  inches  deep  but  with 
no  enlargement  for  the  cell  at  the  bottom.  It 
was  quite  evident  the  nest  had  not  been  com- 
pleted as  there  was  no  caterpillar  or  other 
insect  in  it.  After  leaving  the  nest  she  her- 
self may  have  become  the  victim  of  some 
insect-eating   bird    or    other   animal. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
witnessing  one  of  the  same  specie  of  wasps 
mentioned  above,  a  Priononyx,  taking  a  cap- 
tured locust  to  its  nest  or  hole  in  the  ground 
previously  made  for  the  purpose.  I  was  walk- 
ing on  a  road  in  the  suburbs  of  Napa  when 
a  large  insect  carrying  an  object  larger  than 
itself  came  slowly  flying  across  the  road. 
Striking  my  knee  in  its  flight  it  dropped  its 
load  at  my  feet  and  flew  away.  I  at  once 
saw  that  the  object  on  the  ground  was  a 
locust.  It  was  either  dead  or  paralyzed  but 
bore  no  mark  of  injury,  which  caused  me  to 
conclude  that  it  was  a  victim  of  one  of  the 
Spex  family  of  wasps.  If  I  were  right  in  my 
judgment  I  felt  certain  that  the  collision  with 
my  knee  was  but  the  beginning  of  an  in- 
teresting incident,  all  features  of  which  I 
might  be  a  witness  owing  to  the  favorable 
conditions  if  I  should  be  patient  and  quiet. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  before  a  dark- 
colored  wasp,  a  Priononyx,  came  circling 
about  my  person  a  foot  or  so  from  the 
ground,  evidently  in  search  of  the  game  she 
had  dropped  a  few  moments  before.  I  stepped 
back  a  short  distance  to  give  the  wasp  a 
clear  field  in  her  search.  She  was  not  long 
in  locating  it.  After  a  brief  examination  she 
straddled  the   insect,   seizing  it  at  the  base   of 


its  antennae  and  started  off  on  foot. 
Obviously  she  chose  the  easiest  method  of 
handling  the  "hopper."  The  long  legs  of  the 
wasp  raised  her  above  the  body  of  the  locust 
and  she  walked  along  with  the  victim  with 
ease  and  surprising  speed,  taking  the  same 
direction  that  she  was  following  when  I  first 
saw    her. 

I  was  certain  that  I  was  now  about  to  see 
the  burial  operation  which  I  had  frequently 
read  about,  but  never  so  fortunate  as  to  wit- 
ness. The  wasp  carried  or  dragged  the  locust 
about  a  yard  then  dropped  it.  According  to 
the  recorded  habits  of  the  species  she  was 
now  going  to  the  nest  to  see  if  everything 
was  as  it  should  be  before  bringing  in  the 
game,  therefore  the  nest  of  the  Priononyx 
was  not  far  away.  This  proved  to  be  the  case; 
by  watching  the  wasp  closely,  following  her 
steps  to  the  border  of  the  beaten  track  of  the 
roadbed,  I  soon  saw  her  approach  a  hole  in 
the  ground  which  was  a  little  larger  round 
than  a  lead  pencil.  She  circled  around  it  a 
few  times  in  flight  then  lit  on  the  ground  and 
walked  about  the  hole  in  a  quick  nervous 
manner,  after  which  she  went  down  into  the 
nest,  then  came  out.  Apparently  after  satis- 
fying herself  that  she  could  without  inter- 
ference bring  home  her  prize  she  flew  back 
to  the  locust  for  the  last  time  and  brought 
it  to  the  entrance  of  the  nest,  where  she  left 
it  while  she  went  down  the  hole  head  first. 
While  below  she  must  have  turned  around, 
for  in  a  few  seconds  her  head  appeared  above 
the  hole,  when  she  seized  the  locust  by  the 
antennae  and  dragged  it  down  out  of  sight. 
In  a  few  moments  she  came  out  and  began 
to  refill  the  hole  by  scratching  in  the  loose 
dirt  about  the  entrance  with  her  feet,  throw- 
ing it  behind  her.  She  continued  the  work 
until  the  hole  was  filled  and  the  surface 
leveled  with  the  surroundings  and  all  evi- 
dence of  the  presence  of  the  nest  was  re- 
moved. Her  work  now  being  finished  her 
interest  in  the  place  seemed  at  an  end,  for 
she  flew  away  and  was  seen  no  more. 

If  I  had  excavated  the  locust  at  once  I 
would  undoubtedly  have  found  an  egg  of  the 
wasp  fastened  to  the  body  of  the  buried  in- 
sect. If  excavated  a  week  later  I  would 
probably  have  found  that  the  egg  had  hatched 
and  that  the  larva  of  the  wasp  was  feeding 
on  the  body  of  the  locust.  However  I  did  not 
disturb  the  nest,  but  walked  on  thinking 
about  the  anxiety,  care  and  intelligence 
manifested  by  the  wasp  in  approaching  the 
nest  and  almost  human  cleverness  in  handling 
the  bulky  captive.  In  contemplating  similar 
actions  by  humans  they  would  be  considered 
as  acts  of  intelligence,  exhibiting  prudence, 
forethought,  sagacity  and  aptitude.  When  we 
find  an  individual  though  as  low  down  in  the 
scale  of  life  as  an  insect  showing  all  this  why 
should  it  be  attributed  solely  to  instinct  and 
not   to   some   degree   of  rational    power? 


80 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


^2 


8 


IS 


h 

- 

0  £ 

,c  -i-1 

5  a) 

rf 

-s 

— 

s  ■ 

y 

- 

B  ii 

<< 

O  S 

£ 

OS  J 

S  eS 

~ 

<j<    93 

N 

cj  oT 

<! 

2  § 

ftj 

N   60 

g  C 

g 


.   0>  .Q 
'  05  rt 

O   s- 
.       £> 

i££ 

■°    CO    S 

a)  :G 
t!  -^  <M 

£c° 

O   O   o> 

bo  <p  o 

c 

-2    O    M 

3  0  +j 
G.Cfi 
C  H  bo 

ci       ■£ 

«; 

s£  ° 

■»*"H 
2  >,.s 

4)  a)  g 

5  o 

a>  c 
o>  o 


CHAPTER  XI 


WONDERS  OF  THE  LEAF 

Its  Function  in  Plant  Growth  and  Its  Important  Relations  to  Humanity 

and  All  Other  Forms  of  Life 


/  think  that  I  shall  never  see 
A  poem  lovely  as  a  tree. 
A  tree  whose  hungry  mouth  is  prest 
Against  the  earth's  sweet  flowing  breast; 
A  tree  that  looks  at  God  all  day 
And  lifts  her  leafy  arms  to  pray; 
A  tree  that  may  in  summer  wear 
A  nest  of  robins  in  her  hair; 
Upon  whose  bosom  snow  has  lain; 
Who  intimately  lives  with  rain. 
Poems  are  made  by  fools  like  me 
But  only  God  can  make  a  tree. 

— Joyce   Kilmer. 

The  leaf  of  a  tree,  shrub  or  plant  is  such  a 
common  feature  in  Nature's  productions  that 
it  is  an  object  universally  recognized  on  sight, 
but  acquaintance  with  its  origin,  growth,  its 
function  in  plant  life,  its  marvelous  mechanism 
and  its  relation  to  all  animal  life  are  per- 
haps matters  not  so  commonly  understood. 
We  have  constantly  under  our  vision  so  many 
leaves,  green  and  fresh  in  the  spring  and 
summer,  and  dead  and  dessicated  in  the  fall 
and  winter,  that  the  most  of  us  appreciate 
them  only  for  the  beauty  they  give  to  Nature 
and  the  comfort  they  may  afford  us  in  the 
former  seasons,  and  regard  them  as  a  nui- 
sance, if  we  think  of  them  at  all,  in  the  lat- 
ter. Another  condition  probably  contributing 
to  the  lack  of  general  knowledge  of  the  leaf 
is  the  absence  of  the  spur  of  necessity.  In  a 
country  like  ours  where  the  soil  is  as  pro- 
ductive and  climatic  conditions  so  favorable 
to  plant  life,  insuring  annual  recurrence  of 
abundant  crops,  we  have  little  occasion  to 
think  of,  worry  about,  or  inquire  into  the 
source  of  our  food  supply,  quantity  or  qual- 
ity. The  only  anxieties  we  have  in  the  mat- 
ter are  confined  to  the  exertions  and  ex- 
penditures necessary  to  acquiring  the  quantity 
we  must  have  to  sustain  our  existence  or 
appease   our  appetites. 

However,  in  such  parts  of  the  globe  sub- 
jected to  droughts  causing  total  failures  .  of 
crops  with  ensuing  famine,  the  unfortunate 
people  inhabiting  the  districts  have  an  object 
lesson,  most  severe  and  destructive  in  its 
operation,  showing  how  all  life  belonging  to 
the  animal  kingdom  is  wholly  dependent 
upon  productions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom 
for  the  maintenance  of  existence. 

In  the  bodies  of  all  animal  life,  including 
mankind,  there  is  a  continual  wastage  going 
on  in  the  life  cells,  which  must  be  renewed 
by  taking  into  the  system  those  certain 
chemical  elements  existing  in  what  we  know 
•»    as   food,    required   to   repair      the      waste,      or 


sooner  or  later  death  occurs  by  what  we  call 
starvation.  The  peculiar  as  well  as  im- 
portant fact  in  this  matter  is  that  animal  life 
cannot  assimilate  the  necessary  chemical  ele- 
ments, chiefly  oxygen,  nitrogen,  hydrogen 
and  carbon,  in  a  form  acceptable  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  life  cells  without  the  aid 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

Protoplasm  with  which  the  life  cells  are 
filled  is  composed  of  the  chemical  elements 
just  enumerated,  and  is  the  physical  basis  of 
all  life  of  both  kingdoms.  Members  of  the 
animal  kingdom  being  unable  to  elaborate 
protoplasm  direct  from  the  elements,  Nature 
has  provided  that  the  vegetable  kingdom 
shall  assemble  them  with  others  that  may  be 
required,  and  manufacture  them  into  com- 
pounds varying  in  character  and  form.  These 
are  recognizable  in  succulent  plants,  grain, 
seeds,  fruits,  etc.  Another  peculiar  feature 
is  that  the  vegetable  kingdom  members  can- 
not work  up  these  "compounds"  from  the  ele- 
ments direct,  but  must  find  them  in  the  air, 
the  water  and  the  soil  in  gaseous  and  soluble 
combinations.  For  example,  the  carbon  is 
derived  from  carbonic  acid  gas  that  forms 
a  slight  portion  of  the  atmosphere  in  which 
we  live.  This  gas,  which  is  a  combination  of 
carbon  and  oxygen,  is  taken  into  the  plant 
principally  through  the  leaves.  The  nitro- 
gen is  taken  principally  from  the  earth,  but 
also  from  the  air,  where  it  is  always  mixed 
with  oxygen,  as  it  is  also  in  the  soils  with 
the  addition  of  other  elements  in  the  form 
of  nitrates  that  are  soluble,  for  the  roots  of 
the  plant  cannot  assimilate  or  take  up  solids. 
The  hydrogen  is  also  in  combination  with 
oxygen  forming  water.  The  plants  after  tak- 
ing these  up,  use  as  much  of  them  as  are 
necessary  for  the  increase  of  their  protoplasmic 
cells.  The  surplus  furnishes  the  material  for 
cell  walls  and  substances  such  as  seeds,  pro- 
viding for  the  reproduction  of  their  kind,  and 
bulbs,  rootstocks,  cotyledons  or  seed  coats  for 
the  nourishment  of  the  young  plants  at  the 
outset  of  their  existence,  also  for  the  resin, 
turpentine,  sugar,  tannin,  etc.,  so  useful  to 
the  human  family.  The  unused  excess  con- 
sisting largely  of  oxygen  and  some  carbonic 
acid   is  returned   to  the   air. 

When  we  consider  that  these  fruits,  grains, 
bulbs,  etc.,  are  produced  by  plant  life  in  such 
enormous  quantities,  away  beyond  what  is 
necessary  for  reproduction  of  its  kind  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  all  animal  life 
would  perish  for  the  lack  of  food  supply  with- 
out this  surplus,   do  we  not  distinctly  see    in 


82 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


A  SPROUTED  ACORN — Beginning  of  the  oak  tree.  The  germ  of  life  lies  in  the  apex 
of  the  acorn.  When  awakened  by  moisture  and  heat  it  sends  out  a  sprout  which 
branches  or  divides — one  limb  descending  into  the  earth  to  supply  the  root  system, 
the  other  limb  shooting  upward  and  eventually  becoming  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


83 


this,  purpose  and  plan  of  the  great  Designer, 
and  a  fundamental  feature  of  the  scheme  of 
life? 

Yet  I  can  understand  how  some  people  who 
have  given  but  little  thought  to  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  of  Nature  or  study  of  natural 
history  would  remain  unimpressed,  without 
further  explanation  that  carniverous  or  meat 
eating  animals  find  the  necessary  chemicals 
in  proper  combination  in  the  flesh  of  smaller 
or  weaker  vegetable  feeding  animals,  which 
become  the  food  supply  of  the  larger  or  more 
powerful  forms.  Thus  man  eats  beef  and 
mutton  which  may  be  the  principal  part  of 
the  food  sustaining  his  existence,  while  the 
steer  that  makes  the  beef  and  the  sheep 
that  becomes  mutton  in  the  meat  market, 
obtained  their  growth  from  the  grains  and 
grasses  of  the  vegetable  world.  Whatever  the 
character  of  nourishing  food  to  man  or  beast 
may  be,  trace  back  its  history  and  it  will  be 
found  to  have  originated  from  the  vegetable 
world. 

The  vegetable  kingdom  while  holding  the 
fate  of  all  animal  life,  in  turn  is  dependent 
upon  the  waters  of  the  earth  to  maintain 
its  existence.  The  individual  members  must 
have  water  to  aid  in  the  manufacture  of  food- 
stuffs for  animal  life;  it  is  required  to  dissolve 
the  chemicals  in  the  earth  so  the  little  roots 
of  the  plants  can  absorb  them.  The  plants 
and  trees,  except  those  of  aquatic  growth, 
find  the  water  in  the  soil.  The  water  comes 
from  the  rainfall,  and  as  every  school  boy 
knows,  the  source  of  the  rain  is  the  ocean 
and  other  bodies  of  water  which  yield  it  by 
evaporation  from  their  surfaces;  thence  it  is 
conveyed  to  and  distributed  over  the  land 
through  the  agency  of  the  ever  moving 
atmosphere.  It  is  also  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge  that  three-fourths  of  the  surface 
of  the  globe  is  water  and  the  other  one-fourth 
is  composed  of  land,  but  few  people  notice 
the  interesting  and  remarkable  feature  in 
this  matter  of  proportion  of  water  to  land, 
which  is  that  the  water  surfaces  contain  the 
proper  area,  to  furnish  the  supply  of  water 
or  rainfall  necessary  to  support  natural  vege- 
tation   on    the   land    area. 

Nature  operates  this  wonderful  scheme  on 
an  immense  scale,  but  not  always  with  that 
nicety  and  regularity  in  distribution  of  rain- 
fall on  land  to  avoid  the  complaints  of  farm- 
ers of  "too  much"  or  "too  little,"  as  the  case 
may  be  for  a  satisfactory  growth  of  their 
crops.  For  vegetation  in  the  natural  or  wild 
state,  however,  its  operation  is  amazing  in 
its  grandeur,  perfection  and  harmony.  It 
does  not  require  much  thought  to  realize 
that  through  any  material  reduction  in  the 
proportion  of  water  to  land,  if  such  a  thing 
were  possible,  the  entire  face  of  nature  on 
this  earth  would  be  changed.  Our  wooded 
nooks  and  vales  shorn  of  their  foliage  would 
no  longer  be  places  of  beauty  and  pleasing  re- 
treat. Our  fertile  fields  would  cease,  to  be 
productive  and  the  grassy  plains  and  hill- 
sides would  be  made  bare.  In  short  our 
lands  would  become  as  a  desert  wherein 
would  stalk  famine  and  death  for  all  organic 
life. 


There  is  little  profit  in  speculating  upon 
the  improbable,  if  not  impossible,  things 
relating  to  life,  beyond  the  lesson  we  may 
draw  in  acquainting  ourselves  with  the 
existence  and  working  of  the  laws  of  nature 
and  the  part  they  bear  to  the  Almighty's 
great    scheme    of   the    universe. 

From  what  we  have  learned  from  the 
study  of  life  and  the  origin  of  species  it  is 
possible  that  in  the  beginning  primary  life 
was  exceedingly  small  and  that  the  first  forms 
were  indistinguishable  as  being  either  vege- 
table or  animal.  We  have  such  forms  still 
with  us  bearing  some  animal  characteristics 
at  the  same  time  exhibiting  as  strong  vege- 
table features,  and  where  to  place  them  in 
classification  has  been  something  of  a  puzzle 
to  scientists.  Accepting  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion as  sound  doctrine  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  this  primary  life  may  have  given 
a  start  to  what  we  now  style  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms.  In  the  millions  upon 
millions  of  years  that  have  followed  since 
the  division  and  the  beginning  of  the  two 
kingdoms  animal  life  from  the  simplest  form 
has  developed  into  the  complex  beings  we 
now  see;  and  likewise  plant  life  from  minute 
and  insignificant  forms  has  developed  the 
trees,  vines,  shrubs,  plants  and  grasses  that 
have  made  the  earth  habitable,  contributing 
to  the  shelter  of  man  and  beast  as  well  as 
yielding  them  pleasure,  food  and  other  com- 
forts. 

Though  the  dependence  of  animal  life 
upon  the  vegetable  kingdom  for  its  exist- 
ence must  have  been  recognized  by  man  since 
the  dawn  of  intelligence  and  civilization,  it 
is  only  since  the  discovery  and  invention  of 
the  microscope  in  a  comparative  recent  age, 
that  man,  by  the  use  of  this  wonderful  instru- 
ment has  been  able  to  unravel  the  secrets 
of  the  organism  of  plant  life  and  the  func- 
tion of  the  leaf  with  its  miraculous  mechan- 
ism   operating    therewith. 

Ordinary  leaves  of  vegetable  life  are  of 
many  shapes  and  sizes;  each  species  of  plant 
including  trees,  shrubs,  etc.,  having  a  form 
peculiar  to  itself.  The  long  slender  pine 
needle  and  the  broad  leaf  of  a  Brazilian 
lily,  six  feet  and  more  in  diameter,  with 
upturned  edges,  are  representatives  of  ex- 
treme examples.  In  defining  a  leaf,  the  stalk 
or  petiole  by  which  it  is  attached  to  the  stem 
or  branch  of  the  plant  to  which  it  belongs  is 
known  as  part  of  the  leaf,  although  the 
leaves  of  some  species  of  plant  life  are  with- 
out stalks  or  petioles.  Such  are  said  to  be 
sessile,  the  base  of  the  leaf  being  directly 
attached  to  the  stem  without  any  extension 
from  the  blade.  Besides  the  ordinary  leaves, 
strictly  speaking,  there  are  others,  which 
botanists  take  note  of,  that  serve  different 
purposes,  where  they  serve  any.  These  are 
the  bud-scales,  flower  petals,  scales  of  bulbs 
and  the  rudimentary  forms  sometimes  found 
on  tubers.  However,  it  is  the  common  leaf, 
the  functions  of  which  fill  so  important  a 
part  in  the  scheme  of  life. 

An  exceedingly  interesting  matter  connected 
with  occurrence  of  leaves  is  the  peculiar  sys- 
tematic   and    mathematical    order      and      pre- 


84 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


cision  of  their  attachment  or  insertion  on  the 
stems  or  branches.  There  are  three  modes,  but 
no  species  of  plant  uses  more  than  one.  The 
different  systems  are  known  as  alternating, 
opposite  and  whorled. 

In  the  first  or  alternate,  one  leaf  after  an- 
other occurs  along-  the  stem,  or  perhaps  more 
accurately  stated,  a  single  leaf  from  each 
node  or  joint.  In  the  second  or  opposite  sys- 
tem there  are  two  leaves  at  each  stem  node, 
opposite  to  each  other,  and  each  pair  of 
leaves  occur  at  right  angles  to  the  other  as 
they  are  produced  by  the  growing  stem,  so 
that  looking  down  a  stem  it  would  appear 
as  if  it  bore  four  ranks  of  leaves.  The  last 
or  third  mode  is  the  whorled,  where  more 
than  two  leaves  spring  from  a  stem  joint,  the 
places  of  attachment  being  uniformly  spaced, 
that  is,  when  there  are  five  leaves  in  a  whorl 
they  will  be  located  one-fifth  of  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  stem  or  stalk  apart. 

No  two  of  these  modes  are  ever  seen  on 
any  one  species,  but  several  different  families 
of  plant  life  may  have  the  same  system.  How- 
ever, the  systems,  except  in  the  "opposites" 
vary  in  the  order  and  number  of  leaves 
circling  a  stem  and  the  differences  are  uni- 
form for  each  species.  The  variations  in  the 
"alternating"  are  most  remarkable  in  their 
mathematical  arrangement  and  division  of 
space  in  the  attachment  of  the  leaves  to  their 
stems  or  branches.  When  this  peculiarity 
came  to  the  notice  of  that  great  naturalist, 
Darwin,  he  marveled  at  it,  but  said  he  could 
give    no    explanation. 

The  arrangement  of  leaves  in  this  system 
with  all  its  modifications  is  spiral.  This  will 
be  readily  detected  by  taking  a  stem  well 
studded  with  leaves  and  noting  that  the  first 
leaf  above  the  leaf  directly  in  front  of  you 
is  located  part  way  around  the  stem  and  the 
next  leaf  in  order  is  still  higher  and  farther 
on  around,  and  so  on  until  you  find  a  leaf 
attached  to  the  stem  directly  above  the  one 
from  which  you  started.  The  variations 
referred  to  as  occuring  in  this  mode  are  in 
the  number  of  leaves  and  tMe  times  around 
the  stem  until  there  is  reached  a  leaf  at- 
tached directly  above  the  starting  point;  and 
in  these  numbers  and  circles  comes  the 
wonderful   mathematical   features. 

The  simplest  and  very  common  form  is 
with  the  growths  where  leaves  are  attached 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  stem,  but  each  suc- 
ceeding one  above  the  other.  Counting  the 
leaves  in  this  arrangement  the  leaf  on  the 
opposite  side  is  one,  and  the  next  leaf  in 
order  located  directly  above  the  starting 
point,  completing  the  circle  around  the 
stem,  is  two.  This  system  is  styled  two- 
ranked,  as  only  two  leaves  are  attached  to 
the  stem  in  making  the  spiral  turn  complete. 
There  being  only  two  leaves,  the  space  of  at- 
tachment horizontally  is  one-half  the  circum- 
ference of  the  stem  apart;  though  vertically, 
or  the  distance  in  height  between  the  leaves, 
may  vary  considerably.  The  arrangement  is 
also   expressed    by   the   fraction    %. 

The  next  in  the  series  is  the  three-ranked 
or  three  leaves  in  one  spiral  turn  around 
the    stem,    and    attached      one-third      of      the 


circumference  apart;  and  expressed  by  the 
fraction    % . 

Now  it  would  seem  as  if  there  might  be 
growths  with  four,  five  or  six  leaves  with 
one  turn,  but  none  such  exist,  for  nature 
controls  this  matter  with  mathematical  sys- 
tem. The  arrangement  of  all  other  series  is 
in  accordance  with  the  peculiar  law  that  each 
succeeding  series  is  composed  of  as  many  turns 
and  number  of  leaves  as  there  are  turns  and 
leaves  in  the  two  preceding  series.  Therefore 
you  will  find  the  next  in  the  series  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  fraction  2-5,  the  numerator 
and  denominator  of  which  are  the  sums  of 
those  of  the  first  two  of  the  series.  These 
figures  indicate  that  there  are  two  spiral  turns 
and  five  leaves  in  the  series  and  also  that 
spaces  of  attachment  of  the  leaves  are  two- 
fifths  of  the  circumference. 

We  have  for  the  first  three  series  1-2,  1-3, 
2-5,  and  following  the  law  mentioned  in  the 
last  paragraph  the  next  series  should  be  the 
sum  of  the  numerators  and  denominators  of 
the  last  two  fractions,  to  wit:  3-8,  and  that 
is  what  happens,  three  spiral  turns  and  eight 
leaves  three-eighths  of  the  circumference 
apart. 

The  next  arrangement  is  5-13,  following 
the  same  method  of  addition.  Then  fol- 
low 8-21  and  13-34,  which  is  about  the  high- 
est commonly  noted  and  is  as  far  as  we  need 
go  to  explain  this  peculiarity.  Observe  that 
these  last  also  are  the  sums  of  the  numera- 
tors and  denominators  of  preceding  fractions. 

The  structure  of  an  ordinary  leaf  consists 
of  green  pulp,  known  in  botany  as  paren- 
chyma, through  which,  extending  to  all  parts, 
is  a  fibrous  frame  of  harder  growth  called 
ribs  and  veins.  The  veins  are  so  styled  for 
the  reason  they  are  hollow  tubes  connecting 
with  the  ribs  and  main  stem  or  petiole  of  the 
leaf,  also  tubular,  which  besides  stiffening 
and  supporting  the  green  softer  part,  give 
passage  to  the  saps  that  flow  back  and 
forth  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  the  leaf. 
The  veining  of  a  leaf  is  called  venation,  and 
varies  in  accordance  with  the  origin  of  the 
plant,  but  is  so  consistently  uniform  therewith 
that  a  mere  glance  enables  one  to  identify  the 
class  to  which  the  plant  belongs. 

The  shapes  and  forms  of  leaves  are  many, 
and  seem  to  serve  no  other  purpose  than  to 
render  ready  identification  of  the  various 
trees  and  plants,  or  make  ornament  and 
shade.  One  might  think  the  Oriental  palm 
tree  with  its  large  broad  leaves  would  throw 
more  shade  than  a  tree  with  smaller  leaves, 
but  where  do  we  find  a  denser  shade  than 
that  of  our  live  oak  with  its  small  leaves? 
But  there  are  exceptions  where  the  shape  and 
form  have  a  special  purpose.  Among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  hollow  tubed  leaves  of 
the  pitcher  plant  which,  when  partially  filled 
with  water,  become  traps  for  insects.  Then 
there  are  the  extraordinarily  shaped  leaves  of 
the  Venus  Fly-trap  plant  which  works  some- 
thing after  the  manner  of  a  steel  trap.  When 
an  insect  alights  or  touches  the  inner  face  of 
either  of  the  hinged  lobes  of  the  leaf  they 
suddenly  close  together  capturing  the  in- 
truder,  but  what  is  more  remarkable  the  leaf 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


85 


secretes  a  digestive  fluid  which  is  said  to  be 
similar  to  the  digestive  fluids  of  animal  life 
in  its  chemical  composition,  and  the  leaves  re- 
main closed  until  the  softer  parts  of  the  victim 
are  digested,  or  in  short  plain  words,  eaten  by 
the  plant.  There  are  four  or  five  other  in- 
sect-killing plants  of  different  forms,  one 
growing  in  our  Sierras,  possessing  the  habit 
of  capturing,  killing  and  devouring  flies  and 
other  insects.  Other  somewhat  remarkable 
exceptions  are  the  enlarged  and  thickened 
leaves  of  the  agave  and  certain  members  of 
called  leaves  is  the  storage  of  nourishment 
and  water  that,  not  unfrequently,  have  been 
the  means  of  saving  the  lives  of  men  and 
beasts  who,  through  some  misfortune  or  mis- 
calculation,   were    without    food    and    drink. 

The  botanists  say  the  tendrils  of  climbing 
plants,  the  sharp  thorns,  like  those  on  the 
honey-locust  tree,  and  the  concentric  layers 
of  the  onion  and  tulip  bulb  are  but  leaves 
in  a  modified  form.  In  the  case  of  tulips  and 
similar  bulbs,  the  special  service  of  the  so- 
called  leaves  is  the  storage  of  nourishment 
elaborated  by  the  leaves  above  ground  for  the 
growth  in  the  following  year  of  the  plant  and 
flower  and  production  of  new  bulbs.  In  doing 
this  the  old  bulb  is  almost  entirely  absorbed. 
The  bulb  found  in  its  place  is  wholly  a  new 
one.  If  the  soil  and  climatic  conditions  are 
favorable  several  new  bulbs  will  be  produced. 

The  small  leaves  that  form  over  the  buds 
of  branches  for  their  protection  in  the  winter 
are  called  bud-scales.  In  some  cases  after 
fulfilling  that  duty  they  fall  off  when  the 
blossom  or  foliage  develops.  The  bud-scale 
of  the  lilac,  however,  after  the  protecting 
service  is  ended,  becomes  an  ordinary  leaf, 
and  with  the  dogwood  it  eventually  becomes 
a  showy  part  of  the  flower. 

Leaves  have  the  power  of  movement,  but 
it  is  rather  insignificant  except  in  compara- 
tively few  species.  Nearly  all  kinds  can  and 
will  return  to  their  natural  position  when 
twisted  round  so  as  to  be  upside  down,  if  not 
too  rudely  done.  The  most  common  move- 
ment is  among  plants  the  leaves  of  which 
change  their  position  at  evening  for  the  night 
and  resume  a  daylight  position  in  the  morn- 
ing. Then  there  are  some  plants  known  as 
sensitive  plants,  for  the  reason  that  when 
lightly  struck,  or  jarred,  the  small  leaflets 
suddenly  close  and  fold  up  along  the  stem. 
But  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  inde- 
pendent movement  is  described  as  occurring 
with  a  plant  growing  in  some  parts  of  India, 
commonly  styled  the  Telegraph  plant.  Each 
leaf  stem,  or  petiole,  bears  three  leaves;  the 
middle,  or  terminal  leaf  is  somewhat  of  the 
shape  of  a  small  leaf  of  a  peach  tree.  This 
droops  at  night  and  rises  with  the  beginning 
of  the  day.  The  other  two  leaves,  which  are 
very  much  smaller,  under  certain  conditions 
of  temperature  keep  up  an  incessant  move- 
ment not  unlike  the  flopping  ears  of  a  fly- 
bothered  animal. 

Whatever  peculiarity  of  shape  and  size 
leaves  may  have,  power  of  movement  they 
possess,  or  special  service  in  supplying  forage, 
shade,  or  storing  nourishment  for  future  gen- 
erations of  its  own  kind,  the  principal  and  or- 


dinary purpose  of  leaves,  in  conjunction  with 
the  roots,  is  that  of  maintaining  the  exist- 
ence and  growth  of  the  plant  to  which  they 
belong;  and  in  this  function  they  exhibit  the  in- 
tricacies of  a  machine  shop  and  the  wonders 
of  a  chemical  laboratory.  But  before  we  enter 
into  the  details  of  this  relation  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  review  the  principal  features 
in  the  growth  of  plant  life  to  secure  a  better 
and   clearer   understanding   of   the  subject. 

Growth  of  a  plant  signifies  increase  of  its 
substance  and  its  size  generally  involving  some 
change  in  form.  All  the  details  of  what  takes 
place  are  not  fully  known,  although  the  main 
principles  involved  have  been  pretty  well  es- 
tablished by  scientists.  They  tell  us  that  the 
active  element  of  all  life  is  protoplasm,  a  fluid 
form,  and  all  manner  of  growth  depends  upon 
the  multiplication  or  increase  in  number  of 
the  cells  possessing  this  vital  force.  Through 
the  agency  of  the  nucleus,  which  each  cell 
contains,  the  protoplasm  multiplies  itself  by 
division  of  the  cell  contents  into  two  parts, 
each  of  which,  upon  maturing,  continues  the 
process  of  division.  The  multiplication  of  the 
cells  represents  an  increase  of  substance  or 
what  we  call  growth. 

The  walls  of  the  cells  are  of  a  different 
material  which  in  the  tree  and  shrubs  are 
elongated  and  become  what  we  call  wood. 
The  walls  gradually  grow  thicker  and  stiffer. 
The  harder  the  wood,  the  thicker  and  more 
dense  the  cell  walls.  There  are  other  cells 
and  ducts  for  the  passage  of  the  tree  saps 
which  also  increase  in  number  in  keeping  with 
the  increase  of  the  cells  of  protoplasm.  These 
also  represent  an  increase  of  substance.  So  it 
is  apparent  that  the  tree  or  shrub  in  addition 
to  protoplasm  elaborates  another  growing 
agency,  for  the  cell  walls  are  mainly  com- 
posed of  what  is  called  cellulose,  a  different 
combination  of  the  chemical  elements,  that 
becomes  the  principal  part  of  the  structure  of 
every  tree. 

For  the  formation  of  these  growing  forces 
the  tree  or  plant  absorbs  from  the  soil  and 
from  the  air  and  water  certain  chemicals 
heretofore  enumerated.  The  chemicals  are  in 
gaseous  and  soluble  form  and  usually  are 
assimilated  in  quantities  in  excess  of  immedi- 
ate needs  and  these  excesses  go  to  form  sugar, 
tannin,  resin,  and  many  other  commodities, 
according  to  the  species.  Excesses  are  also 
stored  away  in  different  parts  of  some  plants 
in  soluble  forms  of  sugar,  or  as  dextrine,  or  as 
starch,  for  use  as  seasonal  or  other  conditions 
may  demand.  A  part  is  stored  in  nuts  and 
seeds  and  is  used  in  providing  a  supply  of 
nourishment  for  the  young  seedlings  for  the 
first  few  days  of  their  existence.  In  some 
vegetable  growths,  as  in  the  sugar  maple  tree, 
sugar  cane  and  sugar  beets,  the  excess  stored 
is  appropriated  by  man  and  becomes  the 
sugars  of  commerce. 

In  the  history  of  the  operation  of  the  life 
forces  or  growth  of  a  tree,  say  an  almond  tree, 
the  beginning  is  the  seed,  the  common  almond 
of  which  the  lovers  of  nuts  are  so  fond.  The 
germ  of  life  with  its  dormant  protoplasm  and 
nucleus  lies  in  the  little  bud-like  form  between 
the  two  meaty,  parts  of  the   nut  that  we  eat. 


86 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


Why  this  germ  should  be  able  to  hold  its  ac- 
tive power  dormant  for  years,  or  why  under 
the  influence  of  gentle  heat  and  moisture  it 
awakens  into  life,  biologists  have,  so  far,  been 
unable  to  give  us  a  satisfactory  explanation. 
But,  as  everybody  knows,  an  almond  placed 
in  the  soil  at  the  proper  season  will  "sprout" 
and  in  the  due  course  of  time  the  sprout  will 
become  a  tree  which  upon  maturity  will  itself 
produce  almonds. 

The  sprouting  or  germination  of  the  seed 
means  that  the  cells  of  protoplasm  have  com- 
menced to  multiply,  which,  as  heretofore 
stated,  signifies  an  increase  of  substance.  For 
the  first  few  days  the  material  for  the  growth 
is  supplied  by  the  meaty  parts  of  the  seed  or 
nut  enclosing  the  germ  bud.  The  rapidly  in- 
creasing cells  first  form  a  shoot  that  takes  a 
downward  direction  into  the  earth  and  is  the 
beginning  of  the  root  system  of  the  tree,  and 
another  shoot  is  formed  which  grows  upward, 
which  ultimately  becomes  the  trunk  of  the 
tree.  Within  a  few  days  the  first  shoot  has 
sent  out  little  rootlets  and  the  upward  shoot 
has  produced  a  couple  or  more  of  leaves.  By 
this  time  the  supply  of  growing  material 
stored  in  the  meaty  parts  of  the  nut  has  been 
used  up  in  forming  so  much  of  the  infant 
tree.  However,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  the  youngster,  for  now  being  equipped  with 
leaves  and  roots  it  is  independent  of  its 
nursing  bottle,  for  with  the  new  appendages, 
leaves  and  roots,  it  can  draw  from  the  air, 
the  earth  and  the  moisture  therein  the  ele- 
ments it  requires  for  its  future  growth  and 
existence. 

With  all  exogenous  trees,  of  which  the 
almond  is  one,  the  most  rapid  increase  or  multi- 
plication of  cells,  up  to  a  certain  limit,  is  on 
the  growing  end  of  a  shoot.  At  the  same  time 
there  is  also  a  lateral  increase  of  cells  by 
which  the  circumference  of  the  shoot  is  en- 
larged. 

The  lateral  growth  by  which  the  increase  of 
girth  occurs  is  best  exhibited  in  a  cross  section 
of  a  tree  trunk,  which  shows  that  with  the 
close  of  the  first  year  the  protoplasm  vacated 
the  cells  it  had  occupied  after  taking  a  rest 
during  the  winter.  With  the  appearance  of 
spring  it  moves  outwardly  and  renews  its  work 
of  cell'  building,  which  is  continued  until  the 
ensuing  winter;  this  manner  of  proceeding 
lasting  during  the  life  of  the  tree.  The  dor- 
mant and  active  periods  being  plainly  marked 
by  what  are  called  the  annular  rings.  A  similar 
action  takes  place  in  the  formation  of  the 
bark  of  the  tree,  only  the  protoplasm  moves 
inwardly  in  cell  building.  The  vacated  cells 
in  the  trunk  of  the  tree  become  a  part  of  the 
hardwood,  while  those  of  the  bark  constitute 
the  dry  and  dead-like  parts.  The  soft  and 
outer  part  of  the  trunk,  the  sap  wood,  which 
is  cut  off  or  eliminated  in  the  sawing  up  of  a 
log  for  boards  or  timber  is  the  part  last  occu- 
pied by  the  protoplasm  and  is  technically 
called  the  cambium  layer. 

By  the  continued  addition  of  cells  on  the 
growing  end  or  tips  of  the  stems  and  lateral 
expansions  of  cells  of  the  branches  and  trunk, 
and  similar  extensions  and  expansions  among 
the    roots,    in    the    course    of  time,    a    tree    is 


grown.  As  may  be  inferred  from  the  fore- 
going, this  tree  is  composed  of  a  multitude  of 
cells  with  thickened  walls  of  cellulose.  These 
cells  from  the  roots  to  the  leaves  are  so  con- 
nected that  in  the  growing  season  there  is  con- 
stant circulation  and  interchange  of  materials. 
Remarkable  and  puzzling  as  may  be  the  force 
that  sends  the  solutions  from  the  roots  in  the 
earth,  sometimes  hundreds  of  feet  up,  to  the 
leaves  that  grace  the  top  of  the  tree,  even 
more  mysterious  and  wonderful  is  the  conver- 
sion by  action  in  the  leaves  of  the  solutions 
into  the  various  forms  resulting  in  chlorophyl, 
protoplasm,  cell  walls,  sugar,  starch,  resin, 
etc.,  and  the  return  to  various  parts  of  the 
tree  or  plant  of  certain  of  the  substances  for 
its  growth  or  storage. 

Apparently  from  all  accounts  the  most  im- 
portant and  active  agent  operating  in  the 
leaves  is  chlorophyl,  the  green  substance  that 
gives  the  color  to  them.  However,  it  is  in- 
operative without  the  action  of  sunlight  on  the 
leaves.  The  surface  of  the  leaves,  especially 
the  underside  of  most  kinds,  is  filled  with 
minute  openings,  so  small  that,  except  in  a 
few  cases,  a  microscope  is  required  to  see 
them.  All  of  these  openings  to  the  inner  part 
of  the  leaf  are  guarded  by  a  pair  of  lips  or 
valves,  which  open  and  close  as  the  character 
of  the  operations  going  on  in  the  interior  of 
the  leaf  require.  In  the  interior  part  of  the 
leaf,  or  that  portion  between  the  surfaces, 
are  numerous  cells  and  air  spaces,  to  which 
the  raw  material  gathered  by  the  roots  is 
sent  and  distributed  there  by  the  leaf  veins. 

The  gaseous  elements,  such  as  carbonic 
acid  and  the  air  with  its  oxygen  and  nitrogen, 
are  drawn  into  the  leaf  through  the  small 
pores  or  openings  mentioned.  These  elements 
are  important  and  the  most  extensive  of  the 
contributions  to  the  substances  manufactured 
by  the  leaf.  The  openings  are  also  used  at 
times  by  the  workshop  in  the  leaf  as  vents 
through  which  to  discharge  all  excess  of 
oxygen  or  other  gases  that  arise  in  the  op- 
erations carried  on  there. 

Asa  Grey,  the  American  botanist,  in  sum- 
marizing his  description  of  plant  growth, 
says:  "The  living  parts  of  a  tree,  of  the 
exogenous  kind,  are  only  these:  First,  the 
rootlets  at  one  extremity;  second,  the  buds 
and  leaves  of  the  season  at  the  other;  and 
third,  a  zone  consisting  of  the  newest  wood 
and  newest  bark,  connecting  the  rootlets  with 
the  buds  and  leaves,  however  widely  sep- 
arated they  may  be — in  the  tallest  trees  from 
two  to  four  hundred  feet  apart.  And  these 
parts  are  all  renewed  every  year.  No  wonder, 
thrrefore.  that  trees  may  live  so  long,  since 
thfey  annually  reproduce  everything  that  is 
essential  to  their  life  and  growth,  and  since 
onb  a  very  small  part  of  their  bulk  is  alive 
at  once." 

While  the  facts  given  have  been  fully  estab- 
lished, it  must  be  said  that  all  the  mysteries 
of  the  wonderful  work  shop  in  the  plant  or 
tree  leaf  have  not  been  revealed,  especially 
in  relation  to  the  activities  and  powers  of  the 
chlorophyl.  But  as  it  is  only  within  the  last 
seventy-five  or  one  hundred  years  that  the 
history   of   the   growth    and    life    of   vegetable 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


87 


forms  has  been  worked  out  to  the  extent  of 
our  present  knowledge,  it  is  possible  that 
scientifio  research  of  the  future  will  pro- 
duce other  wonderful  facts,  disclosing  a  closer 
analogy  in  thy;  life  histories  of  the  animal  and 
vegetable    kingdoms. 

However,  there  are  wonders  of  tree  life  that 
will  in  all  probability  remain  puzzles  for  the 
human  mind  until  the  end  of  time.  Why  the 
protoplasm  and  the  chlorophyl,  which  to  all 
appearances  are  the  same  in  all  plant  life, 
operating  in   one   kind   of  leaves  produce   on© 


kind  of  substance  and  in  another  kind  some- 
thing entirely  different,  and  why  a  single 
cell  of  protoplasm  seemingly  alike  in  all 
vegetable  forms,  and  which  in  fact  is  the 
unit  of  all  life,  has  when  in  one  seed  the 
potential  power  of  producing  a  majestic  oak 
that  may  live  for  ages,  and  in  another  seed 
its  power  limited  to  the  production  of  a 
humble  weed  with  an  age  of  no  more  than 
weeks,  will  probably  remain  something  as 
mysterious  and  unfathomable  as  the  problem 
of  life  itself. 


AT  LEFT — Leaves  spaced  one-half  of  circumference  of  stem,  two  leaves  and  one  circle 
around  the  stem.     This  system  is  expressed  as  1-2 

CENTER — Spaced  one-third  of  circumference,  three  leaves  and   one  circle;   expressed 

as  1-3 

RIGHT — Spaced  one-fifth  of  circumference,  Ave  leaves  and  two  circles  around  the  stem. 

Expressed  as  2-5 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LIFE 

Some  of  the  Troubles  with  which  Organic  Life  has  to  Contend,  and 
the  Lessons  they  Afford  Mankind 


Sometimes  when  contemplating  the  problem 
of  human  life,  especially  when  I  meet  a  man 
with  dejected  countenance  who  in  mournful 
tone  declares  he  feels  like  a  "living  tomb,"  I 
wonder  if  there  is  not  something  amiss  in  his 
educational  training.  Our  institutions  of  learn- 
ing include  in  their  general  purpose  the 
object  of  making  honest,  truthful  and  moral 
citizens  of  our  youth,  but  do  they  make  suf- 
ficient effort  to  instill  into  the  minds  of  the 
young  that  the  life  that  lays  before  them  is 
something  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  future 
of  unalloyed  pleasures?  Does  the  system  pre- 
pare  the  minds  of  the  young  men  and  young 
women  for  the  time  when  they  step  out  into 
the  world  to  meet  the  vexations,  discourage- 
ments, obstacles,  snares,  misfortunes  that  lay 
in  the  pathway  of  every  human  life?- 

Perhaps  it  is  thought  that  youth  should  be 
given  these  important  lessons  on  life  at  the 
home  circle  or  fireside.  But  I  am  afraid  the 
home  is*  as  •  remiss  as  the  school.  It  is  un- 
pleasant to  dwell  upon  the  disagreeable  things 
of  life,  but  how  much  easier  it  is  to  meet  and 
overcome  difficulties  when  forewarned  of 
them.  No  soldier  could  win  success  unless 
trained  how  to  deport  himself  in  battle,  how 
to  withstand  the  shocks  from  opposing  forces, 
and  how  to  avoid  and  overcome  the  enemy's 
obstructions.  It  is  the  courage,  force  and 
zeal  the  soldier  exhibits  in  sweeping  aside  all 
opposition  and  striding  on  to  victory  that 
makes  him  a  hero  and  an  object  of  admira- 
tion. 

Likewise  man  should  be  trained  from  early 
youth  how  to  meet  the  adversities  of  life  he 
surely  will  encounter  as  he  tries  to  make  a 
place  for  himself  in  the  world.  The  higher 
his  ambition  for  the  comforts  of  life,  knowl- 
edge and  fame,  the  more  thorough  must  be 
his  training  and  greater  his  efforts,  but  greater 
will  be  the  glory  of  his  victory. 

Nature  produces  life  in  various  forms  from 
the  simplest  to  the  most  complex,  but  to  main- 
tain existence  demands  of  all  certain  activi- 
ties. This  unavoidable  requirement  may  work 
harder  with  one  than  another  and  more 
severely  at  one  time  than  at  others.  It  may 
occasionally  involve  the  necessity  of  great 
effort  as  well  as  conflicts  of  serious  charac- 
ter. Moreover,  all  life  is  subject  to  adaption 
to  climatic  and  soil  conditions;  that  is,  the 
life  of  the  tropical  zone  could  not  maintain 
existence  if  transferred  willingly  or  unwillingly 
to  the  arctic,  no  more  than  life  reared  in  the 
latter  could  prosper  in  the  extreme  heat  of  the 
Equator;   plants  adapted  to  rich  deep  soils  of 


the  valley  will  not  thrive  in  shallow,  rocky,  dry 
land  of  the  hillside. 

Nature   made  no  exception  in  the  operation 
of  these  laws.     They  apply  to  all  forms  of  life 
in   both   animal   and   vegetable   kingdoms.      To 
illustrate,    first  taking  plant      life;      the     seed 
which  contains  the  germ   of  life   of  the   plant, 
shrub  or  tree  finds  a  place  in  the  earth.  With 
proper    heat    and    moisture   it    will    germinate, 
sending  roots  into  the  ground  and  stems  into 
the   air   above.      Its   life    has    begun      and     its 
struggle  for  existence  as  well.     If  the  seed  fell 
into   soil    favorable   to    its   growth      and      sur- 
rounding  conditions   were     favorable      to      its 
needs,    the    ensuing    growth    will    have    found 
a  locality  adapted  to   its  purposes  and  it  will 
have  greater  vigor  and  strength  and  power  of 
resistence  in  its  conflicts  with  other  life  forces 
and  even  the  elements  that  will  from  time  to 
time  attack  it.      If  this  growth  should   be   the 
beginning  of  an   oak  tree,   it   will   be  a   tough 
little  youngster,   although,   like  all   life   in   the 
infant   stage,   it   will   have   its  weaknesses  and 
may  die  from  the  effects  of  the  hard  knocks 
that   it    is      liable      to      encounter.      However, 
Nature    endows    the    baby    oak      with      more 
strength    and    hardihood    than    is   apportioned 
to  many  other  kinds  of  infant  trees.      In  this 
stage  of  its  life  it  is  liable  to  be  crushed  flat 
by  the  foot  of  man  or  beast,  still  be  able  to 
recover   its   upright   position   and   live,   though 
possibly    bearing    the    scars    of    its    misfortune 
through  life  in  a  mishapen  trunk.     There  are 
many   other   things   it   will   have     to      contend 
with,   some  of  which  may  threaten   its  health 
if  not  its  existence.      The  browsing  beast  may 
be   disposed   to   vary  its  food  with   the   tender 
shoots   and    fresh    leaves    of   young    oaks;    the 
larvae    of    butterflies    and    moths,    caterpillars 
that  have   a   penchant  for  oaks,   so   numerous 
at  times  and  so  voracious  their  appetites  that 
they  strip   even   mature  trees   of  their  leaves; 
the  aphids  and   other   forms  of     minute      life 
that   besmear  the   foliage   with   gummy   secre- 
tions  and    clog   the    pores   thus   interfere   with 
one   of   the    most   important   functions   of   the 
leaves;    the  members  of  the  Cynipidae  family 
as   well   as   some   other   insects  that   sting   the 
bark    and    leaves,    producing      swellings,      oak 
balls  and  other  galls  on  stems  and  leaves;  the 
wood    boring    insects    that    make      their      way 
through    the    bark   and    into    the   tree    making 
wounds     most     serious     to     its     life,     though 
the   oak   is  less  afflicted      from     this     source 
than    fruit    trees    which    are    not    infrequently 
killed    by   borers.      Now  should   the' oak      live' 
through    all    these      vicissitudes,      escape      in- 
jury  or   loss  of  limbs   from   the   blasts   of   Old 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


89 


Boreas  or  lightning  strokes  and  reach  the 
limits  of  growth,  a  majestic  representative  of 
organic  life,  there  is  still  man  with  his  cruel 
ax  and  new  fangled  saws  who  may  terminate 
its  career  by  felling  the  proud  tree,  dismem- 
bering its  limbs  and  cutting  it  up  into  fire- 
wood or  timbers  and  boards  as  his  needs  may 
require.  Escaping  from  such  ignominious 
end  it  may  live  on  to  old  age  still  bearing  the 
burdens  of  life,  chief  of  which  is  the  support  of 
parasitical  relations,  misletoe  and  mosses  that 
fasten  themselves  to  the  old  tree  and  remain 
a  drain  upon  its  resources  as  long  as  it  lives. 
Finally  no  longer  being  able  to  resist  the  at- 
tacks of  its  enemies,  the  inroads  upon  its 
vitality  are  manifested  in  decay  and  decrepi- 
tude and  it  becomes  weak  and  tottering,  like 
the  highest  representative  of  animal  life,  man, 
who  succeeds  in  living  a  score  of  years  beyond 
the  average  age  allotted  to  his  kind.  The  end 
is  that  which  comes  to  all  forms  of  life  of 
both  kingdoms  alike,  death. 

Other  forms  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  are 
no  less  subject  to  vicissitudes  of  life,  and  very 
many  have  a  greater  struggle  to  maintain 
their  existence,  especially  that  branch  of  the 
flora  known  as  annuals,  through  the  lack  of 
rainfall,  excessive  cold,  attacks  of  insects 
which  devour  the  roots  as  well  as  others  that 
feed  on  the  leaves,  stalk  and  fruit. 

As  to  life  experiences  of  members  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  sufficient  has  been  said  to 
show  that  those  forms  of  plant  life  which 
succeed  in  maintaining  an  existence  and 
reaching  maturity — those  that  escape  from 
their  enemies,  or  are  not  seriously  injured 
in  their  conflict  with  them,  are  objects-  of 
good  fortune  and  at  the  best  their  lives  are 
not  without  conflict,  but  subject  to  uncer- 
tainties,   misfortunes   and    disasters. 

However,  to  continue  the  inquiry  of  the 
subject  we  must  take  up  for  consideration 
the  life  experiences  of  representatives  of  the 
principal  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom.  To 
this  end  we  will  first  consider  some  of  the 
features  of  the  life  history  of  a  class  that 
inhabits  the  waters.  Perhaps  at  first  tljought 
we  might  look  upon  fish  as  being  care  free. 
They  seem  to  have  no  routine  of  employment, 
no  harvest  to  gather  in  providing  future  food 
supply,  no  habitations  to  create  and  are,  al- 
most without  exception,  without  family  cares 
and  not  possessed  with  the  slightest  regard  for 
their  offspring.  Other  than  the  annual  per- 
formance of  laying  eggs  in  perpetuating  their 
kind  and  of  securing  their  daily  food,  the 
fish  family  have  little  else  to  do  and  would 
appear  to  have  been  allotted  an  ideal  exist- 
ence, according  to  the  way  some  unthinking 
persons  look  upon  the  purposes  of  life.  But 
appearances  are  not  to  be  relied  upon  in 
search  of  truth.  The  fish  have  their  troubles 
and  struggles  in  maintaining  an  existence, 
more  so.  perhaps,  than  many  of  the  other 
forms    of    life. 

As  in  the  infantile  stage  of  plant  forms,  the 
most  critical  period  in  the  life  of  most  fish 
is  babyhood.  Generally  speaking,  the  parent 
fish  lays  thousands  of  eggs  each  season,  but 
only  a  few  of  them  escape  the  ravenous  jaws 
of   other   fish   and    other   enemies.      The   baby 


fish  that  are  hatched  from  the  few  eggs  that 
escape  such  fate,  if  in  inland  waters,  at  once 
seek  the  shallow  margins  or  other  protecting 
spots  where  they  begin  the  struggle  of  life. 
As  a  rule  the  waters  supply  an  abundance  of 
food  while  in  this  stage  and  their  greatest 
concern  is  to  avoid  the  numerous  forms  of 
life  that  are  seeking  their  little  bodies  for 
food.  It  is  estimated  that  only  an  exceedingly 
small  percentage  of  the  fish  hatched  live  to 
reach  the  size  and  age  of  maturity.  It  would 
seem  as  if  every  fish  were  ready  to  swallow 
its  neighbor  size  permitting,  and  which  in 
turn  is  in  constant  danger  not  only  of  being 
swallowed  by  some  -  larger  fish,  but  being 
made  food  of  by  birds  and  land  animals,  in- 
cluding man.  Thus  it  is,  under  the  constant 
menace  of  death,  that  the  majority  of  the  fish 
kind  live  out  their  career.  The  finny  denizens 
of  the  great  depths  of  the  ocean  waters,  of 
course,  are  practically  immune  from  attacks 
from  others  than  their  own  kind. 

If  fish  have  any  compensation  for  the  vicis- 
situdes attending  their  existence  or  possess 
anything  analogous  to  what  we  call  the 
pleasures  of  living,  it  must  be  in  eating,  and 
only  this,  if  we  interpret  the  gratification  of 
insatiable  appetites  as  yielding  pleasure. 

In  addition  to  the  dangers  from  inhabiting 
the  same  waters  with  cannibalistic  relations, 
many  species  of  fish  have  other  troubles  to 
contend  with,  chief  of  which  is  the  affliction 
of  parasites.  A  notable  instance  is  observable 
in  Klamath  Lake,  in  Southern  Oregon,  where 
the  large  trout  common  in  its  waters  have 
their  mouth  parts  attacked  by  a  worm-like 
animal,  probably  a  species  of  leech,  which 
affixes  itself  to  the  inner  parts  of  the  fish's 
mouth  and  sucks  the  life  juices  of  its  host. 
The  big  fish  does  not  quietly  or  tamely  sub- 
mit to  the  proceeding,  for  which  it  is  made 
uncomfortable  by  the  presence  of  the  parasite 
it  comes  to  the  surface,  flopping  violently  as 
if  trying  to  shake  loose  this  intruder.  It  com- 
monly succeeds  in  ejecting  it,  throwing  it  to 
a  distance  of"  ten  or  fifteen  feet.  When  near 
enough  the  action  is  discernable  in  all  its  de- 
tails from  the  land  or  boat.  The  observer 
may  be  startled  by  the  sudden  flopping  of  a 
big  fish  on  the  surface  of  the  water  near  by, 
and  if  his  eyesight  is  quick  and  sharp  and 
the  fish  successful  in  its  efforts  to  free  itself 
of  the  obnoxious  pest,  he  will  see  the  unwill- 
ing flight  of  the  leech;  or  if  he  misses  that 
he  cannot  help  seeing  the  spot  where  it  falls 
into  the  water  indicated  by  the  circles  of  tiny 
wavelets   caused   by  this   disturbance. 

Perhaps  a  more  exceptional  trouble  to  which 
the  fish  tribe  may  be  subjected  is  the  pollution 
of  the  waters  which  they  inhabit.  Possibly 
we  can  more  fully  appreciate  what  this  means 
in  its  effect  on  the  inhabitants  of  polluted 
waters  by  considering  the  result  to  a  com- 
munity of  our  own  kind  if  the  atmosphere  in 
which  we  live,  and  which  is  much  the  same 
to  us  as  water  is  to  the  fish  family,  should 
suddenly  and  without  notice  become  impreg- 
nated with  sickening  or  poisonous  gases. 

An  incident,  rather  extreme  in  character, 
illustrating  the  result  of  pollution  of  waters 
recently  came  under  my  observation  while  on 


90 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


a  visit  to  a  neighboring  town.  One  morning 
while  crossing  one  of  the  bridges  over  the 
river  there,  in  looking  down  upon  the  water, 
I  saw  a  most  unusual  sight,  the  surface  of  the 
stream  from  bank  to  bank  and  for  several 
hundred  yards,  as  far  as  the  bend  in  the 
river  permitted  my  vision  to  extend,  was 
covered  with  dead  and  dying  fish.  I  esti- 
mated there  was  a  fish  for  each  one  and  a 
half  square  feet  of  surface.  In  many  places 
there  would  be  four  or  five  dead  fish  in 
that  space.  '  It  was  something  of  a  surprise 
to  me  that  the  stream  could  yield  such  a 
quantity  of  fish  in  the  limit  of  space  men- 
tioned. There  was  nothing  to  indicate  a  con- 
centration, though  probably  there  were  more 
fish  inhabiting  that  part  of  the  river  within 
the  city  limits  owing  to  the  sewers  of  the  city 
emptying  into  it  supplying  more  or  less  food. 
The  fish  were  nearly  all  of  one  species,  catfish, 
apparently  of  an  average  length  of  ten  or 
twelve  inches.  There  were  a  few  carp  and 
some  smaller  fish  locally  called  white  fish, 
also  known  as  "split-tails"  owing  to  the  sharp 
forking  of  the  tail,  the  upper  lobe  being 
considerable    longer    than    the    lower    lobe. 

I  was  informed  by  a  resident  that  similar 
occurrences  of  dead  fish  had  happened  twice 
before  in  the  preceding  three  months.  As  to 
the  cause,  this  man  had  no  explanation,  but 
from  other  sources  I  learned  that  a  certain 
manufacturing  establishment  located  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  was  engaged  in  turning 
out  some  form  of  war  supplies,  in  the  produc- 
tion of  which  there  accumulated  some  waste 
solutions  which  were  periodically  emptied 
into  the  river.  The  periods  of  disposition  of 
the  waste  solutions  agreeing  with  occurences 
of  the  dead  fish,  the  responsibility  for  the 
wholesale  killing  was  laid  to  the  manufactory. 
As  the  fish  possessed  no  food  value  of  any 
importance  their  destruction  in  this  way  was 
not  regarded  as  a  serious  matter,  but  rather 
as  an  unavoidable  affair  incidental  to  the  war 
needs  of  the  government.  On  the  other  hand 
if  the  fish  of  the  river  that  escaped  from  the 
disaster  could  have  given  expression  to  their 
views  of  the  incidents  their  protest  would 
probably  have  recited  the  great  dangers  and 
difficulties  the  members  of  their  class  ordi- 
narily have  to  contend  with  in  working  out 
the  cycle  of  their  existence,  which  is  enough 
for  them  to  bear  without  having  to  suffer  such 
an  overwhelming  affliction,  and  concluding 
with  an  appeal  to  the  laws  of  the  state  for 
protection  from  a  repetition  of  the  slaughter. 

At  the  risk,  possibly,  of  making  this  essay 
seem  somewhat  monotonous,  in  carrying  out 
the  point  I  wish  to  make,  I  shall  now  consider 
some  of  the  troubles  of  bird  life  that  seem  to 
harmonize  with  nature's  general  plan  of 
existence  for  all  organic  life  on  this  sphere. 
Unlike  the  fish,  birds  as.  a  rule  possess 
parental  interest  in  their  offspring.  The  labor, 
anxieties  and  care  attending  the  rearing  of  the 
young  to  the  stage  of  life  when  they  can  pro- 
vide for  themselves,  embrace  duties  and  sac- 
rifices which  are  no  insignificant  additions  to 
the  list  of  difficulties  which  the  piscatorial 
family  have  to  work  out  in  the  course  of 
their  existence,  the  greater  part  of  which  the 


majority  of  bird  life  is  also  subject  to.  Birds 
have  so  many  enemies  that  their  entire 
existence  from  nestling  to  the  end  of  life  is 
passed  under  a  continual  fear  of  attack. 
A  great  percentage  of  unnatural  mortality  in 
bird  life  is  attributed  to  the  cannibalistic  and 
savage  character  of  some  forms  of  their  own 
kind,  hawks,  owls,  etc.  While  foxes,  cats 
and  many  other  animals,  including  snakes, 
would  not  be  far  behind  in  the  amount  of 
death  percentage  chargeable  to  them.  Finally, 
the  acts  of  mankind  towards  the  feathered 
family  have  been  of  such  murderous  and  un- 
friendly nature  that  all  its  members  fly  and 
seek  to  hide  themselves  from  bipeds,  big  or 
small.  A  great  many  birds,  if  they  main- 
tained a  black  list  of  their  enemies,  would 
head  it  with  man,  as  being  the  most  deadly  and 
inconsiderate  and  even  cruel,  for  much  of  his 
killing  is  done  in  what  he  calls  "sport."  If 
a  person  wants  any  evidence  of  how  birds 
regard  this  condition  that  follows  them 
through  life,  they  have  only  to  take  note  of 
their  actions  when  feeding.  If  the  bird  under 
observation  happens  to  be  a  seed  feeder,  it 
drops  in  its  flight  to  the  place  where  its  de- 
sirable food  may  be.  Instead  of  immediately 
starting  to  feed,  as  a  rule  it  will  first  stretch  its 
head  up  and  look  in  all  directions  for  the 
presence  of  an  enemy.  If  it  should  happen 
to  detect  one  within  a  distance  that  implies 
danger,  the  bird  will  not  only  recognize  the 
enemy  but  the  menace  to  its  welfare  as  well, 
and  will  depart  without  eating.  Should  the 
"coast  be  clear,"  however,  the  bird  with 
lightning  like  rapidity  will  snatch  up  a  seed, 
then  while  working  it  in  its  mandibles  to  free 
it  from  its  husks  stretches  its  head  up,  look- 
ing this  way  and  that,  alert  that  no  enemy 
shall  take  it  unawares.  This  action  is  fol- 
lowed with  every  seed  the  bird  picks  up. 
By  close  observation  of  bird  habits,  wherever 
undertaken  it  will  be  noted  that  much  of  the 
birds'  time  is  passed  in  search  for  danger. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  said  they  have  by  ex- 
perience strongly  developed  the  principle  of 
"safety  first."  A  bird  may  be  perched  in 
some  "tree  top  or  other  prominent  place  and 
singing  as  if  most  happy  and  contented  with 
its  condition  in  the  world,  at  the  same  time 
both  of  its  eyes  are  open  and  quick  to  detect 
the   approach    of   danger. 

Yet  with  all  this  handicap  in  working  out 
their  existence  the  feathered  family  seem  to 
enjoy  life  and  are  tenacious  of  it.  None  of 
the  cares,  sacrifices  or  dangerous  duties  of 
life  imposed  by  nature  are  shunned  or 
slighted,  but  are  carried  out  in  a  spirit  of 
loyalty,  contentment  and  apparent  happiness, 
not  unworthy  of  emulation  by  the  highest 
members  of  the  animal  kingdom. 

For  all  of  the  balance  of  the  members  of  the 
Vertebrate  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom  in 
a  wild  state  from  the  little  shrew  up,  there 
is  a  continuous  menace  of  death,  and  the 
numerous  vicissitudes  of  life  to  which  they 
are  subjected  vary  but  little  from  those 
described.  The  dullest  mind  with  little 
thought  can  recall  how  man  seeks  to  ex- 
terminate all  species  of  animal  life  which  he 
regards  as  being  destructive,     or     obnoxious; 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


91 


how  the  larger  animals  relentlessly  prey  upon 
the  smaller,  and  the  smaller  upon  the  small- 
est; and  how  the  majority  of  all  four-footed 
animals  are  hunted,  trapped  and  slaughtered 
for  food,  skins  and  fur  by  man.  With  domes- 
tic animals  the  conditions  are  not  so  severe. 
True,  such  as  are  bred  and  reared  for  human 
consumption  have  limited  terms  of  existence, 
measured  by  their  condition  of  fitness  as 
food,  but  other  domestic  animals  like  the 
horse,  cow,  dog,  cat,  etc.,  that  assist  man  in 
procuring  the  necessities  of  his  life,  or  serve 
him  as  a  companion  or  guardian  of  his  per- 
son or  property,  pass  an  existence  more  free 
of  troubles,  cares,  disappointments  and  mis- 
fortunes, than  all  other  members  of  the  ani- 
mal  kingdom. 

Nature,  however,  does  not  permit  even 
these  few  representatives  of  life  forms  to 
pass  an  existence  entirely  free  of  trouble,  for 
with  all  their  easy  conditions  of  life  the  most 
fortunate  may  enjoy,  there  is  disease,  acci- 
dent, result  of  passion,  to  which  they  are  still 
subject. 

The  leniency  of  nature,  especially  as  relates 
to  the  dog  and  cat,  may  be  an  exception  wisely 
designed  as  an  object  lesson  to  those  of  man- 
kind inclined  to  rail  at  her  scheme  of  life  and 
who  would  remodel  it  into  one  without  care, 
want  and  conflict  and  with  absolute  peace  and 
harmony.  Even  the  dog's  life  with  its  few 
cares  and  vicissitudes  would  be  an  elevated 
existence  compared  with  what  that  life  would 
be  under  such  an  order  of  things.  There  would 
be  no  homes,  for  they  would  involve  cares 
and  vexations;  no  factories,  for  they  would 
engender  trouble;  no  professions  or  businesses, 
for  they  would  necessitate  labor  to  acquire 
and  maintain.  Ignorance  would  replace 
knowledge;  indifference  and  stagnation  would 
be  substituted  for  science  and  progress,  pro- 
ducing life  without  aim,   purpose   or  desire. 

However,  it  is  not  my  intention  to  discuss 
the  question,  whether  or  not  Nature's  scheme 
of  life  could  be  improved  by  the  elimination 
of  its  dangers,  vexations,  cares,  conflicts,  etc. 
What  I  have  written  is  for  the  object  of 
recalling  to  unthinking  minds  that  these 
things,  objectionable  as  they  may  seem,  are 
inseparable  and  in  a  sense  unavoidable  in  all 
forms  of  life,  including  mankind.  It  has  al- 
ways been  so  and  probably  will  continue  so 
until  the  end  of  time,  with  some  modifica- 
tions as  the  mind  of  man  broadens  and  de- 
velops in  his  conception  of  things,  with 
higher  regard  for  his  obligations  to  and  his 
relations  with,  not  only  his  fellows,  but  all 
other   forms   of  life. 

According  to  the  estimates  of  those  writers 
best  qualified  to  judge  the  nine  branches  of  life 
that  compose  the  animal  kingdom  embrace 
five   hundred   and   twelve   thousand   five   hun- 


dred species,  of  which  man  is  one.  By  rea- 
son of  his  superior  intellect  and  habits  man 
is  regarded  as  being  in  a  division  of  life  apart 
and  in  advance  of  all  other  forms,  but  physi- 
cally he  is  only  a  variation,  inferior  in 
strength  and  endurance,  compared  with  many 
of  the  mammals  to  which  he  belongs.  He 
was  created  on  the  same  general  plan,  with 
organs  functioning  on  the  same  general  prin- 
ciples, as  with  the  mouse,  fox,  horse,  dog, 
elephant,  or  other  vertebrates.  For  this  rea- 
son, if  no  other,  man  is  subject  to  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature  the  same  as  the 
balance  of  the  animal  kingdom,  from  which 
there  is  no  escape  or  exception  in  his  favor.  But 
nature  dealt  more  liberally  with  man  in  giv- 
ing him  a  superior  intellect,  by  the  proper 
operation  of  which  he  avoids  or  reduces  to  a 
minimum  many  of  the  objectionable  features 
attending  life.  However,  the  responsibility  of 
its  use  and  operation  is  placed  wholly  on  man 
himself.  It  depends  largely  upon  the  in- 
dividual, how  he  exercises  the  great  intel- 
lectual gifts  of  reasoning,  judgment  and  per- 
ception, whether  his  life  shall  be  made  a 
pleasant  or  unpleasant  career,  a  success  or 
failure. 

In  one  sense  life  is  war  and  the  man  who 
spends  his  time  brooding  over  misfortunes, 
who  is  cast  down  by  failures,  who  bewails  his 
lot  in  life  because  of  losses  or  accidents,  or 
who  lets  his  griefs  unduly  sadden  his  life,  is 
like  the  soldier  in  battle  who  lays  down  his 
arms  or  flees  at  the  first  onset  of  the  enemy. 
His  conduct  casts  a  gloom  on  his  surround- 
ings and  he  becomes  an  object  whom  people 
seek  to  avoid  even  though  they  entertain  feel- 
ings of  pity  for  him. 

When  man  discovers  his  place  in  nature's 
great  scheme  of  life,  and  realizes  that  he  is 
only  one  among  millions  of  his  own  and  other 
forms  of  life,  all  subject  to  the  same  laws, 
and  learns  that  the  hard  knocks  in  life  are 
not  wholly  accidents  but  incidental  to  opera- 
tion of  nature's  great  scheme,  and  develops 
the  courage  and  strength  of  character  to  face 
them,  he  will  have  laid  the  foundation  for 
genuine  enjoyment  of  life,  as  well  as  put 
himself  in  the  way  to  command  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellows,  which  alone  is  one 
of  the  most  satisfying,  solid  and  enduring 
comforts  attending  life. 

Human  life  has  its  genuine  pleasures  and 
its  enjoyable  compensations  for  its  troubles 
and  hardships,  but  they  are  not  commodities, 
purchasable,  like  goods  on  the  shelves  of  the 
merchant's  store,  but  things  that  are  free 
to  all,  yet  are  obtainable  only  by  proper  con- 
duct and  unselfishness  in  our  relations  with 
our  fellows,  by  being  temperate  in  all  things 
and  loyal  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  society. 


=3k>>e^ 


92 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


^j£  «x>  *(*£#:*??? 


*: 


v.  .JP^-  **  '       '.v 


MONUMENT  ON  SUMMIT   OF   MT.   DIABLO 


CHAPTER  XIII 


WILD  LIFE 

Found  in  and  about  the  Grounds  of  Diablo  Park 
Residents  and  Visitants 


In  a  previous  chapter  I  gave  considerable 
space  to  detailing  observations  made  while 
tramping  through  Diablo  Canyon.  It  is  now 
my  purpose  to  relate  some  matters  of  interest 
noted  while  rambling  over  the  club  grounds 
and  golf  course  in  the  park,  or  valley,  below. 

Diablo  Canyon  is  the  great  gash  in  the 
southwestern  side  of  Mt.  Diablo.  Therein 
gather  the  waters  forming  the  creek  that 
once  flowed  down  through  the  park  grounds 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  I  said  "once" 
for  now  and  a  number  of  years  past  the 
waters  flow  only  in  the  creek  bed  of  the  can- 
yon proper,  as  a  dam  was  built  across  the 
canyon  near  the  place  of  its  opening  into  the 
valley,  or  park.  The  waters  thus  impounded 
form  a  pretty  little  lake,  making  a  very  at- 
tractive spot  for  lovers  of  water  sports.  Gamey 
black  bass  inhabit  its  depths  and  families  of 
the  long-legged  great  blue  heron  are  annually 
produced   in   the    neighboring   tree    tops. 

In  the  course  of  time  long  before  man  lo- 
cated here  and  piled  up  the  big  bank  of 
earth  and  clay  across  the  canyon  to  stay 
further  flow  of  the  stream,  the  waters  had 
cut  a  deep  meandering  channel  for  a  mile  and 
a  half  or  so  through  the  alluvial  land  of  the 
park  valley.  The  banks  of  this  channel,  or 
creek-bed,  are  thickly  lined  with  growths  of 
oaks,  willows,  alders,  etc.,  most  of  which  are 
of  extraordinary  size.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  first  two  mentioned.  In  fact  the  sup- 
posedly largest  live  oak  tree  in  the  state  is 
growing  on  the  banks  of  this  creek.  It  meas- 
ures 24  feet  in  circumference,  is  80  feet  high 
and  has  a  spread  of  125  feet.  The  trees  and 
wild  shrubbery  bordering  the  stream  bed 
constitute  a  feature  greatly  contributing  to 
the  natural  beauty  of  the  park  and  grounds  of 
the  Mt.   Diablo  Country  Club. 

The  most  active  agents  in  undoing  the  work 
of  the  green-keepers  in  keeping  the  greens 
and  fairway  of  the  golf  course  smooth,  clean 
and  free  of  obstructions  are  the  colony  of 
gophers  that  infest  the  grounds.  In  one 
section  of  the  fairway,  between  number  one 
and  two  greens,  nearly  3000  of  the  rodents 
had  been  shot,  trapped  and  in  other  ways 
killed  in  a  little  more  than  two  years'  time, 
when  the  green-keeper  tired  of  recording  the 
captures,  so  we  know  not  how  many  have 
been  slain  since.  However,  he  says  the  rate 
of  his  slaughter  has  not  been  reduced,  and 
to  all  appearances  the  gophers  are  as  num- 
erous as  ever.  A  peculiar  feature  of  their 
activities  is  that  twice  a  day,  about  nine 
of  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  three  or 
four   in   the   afternoon,   the  gophers  come   out 


of  their  holes  for  some  reason  I  am  unable 
to  explain.  Notwithstanding  they  pass  the 
greatert  part  of  their  lives  underground 
keenness  of  eyesight  with  them  does  not  seem 
impaired  thereby,  for  when  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground  they  are  quick  to  detect  the  pres- 
ence of  danger  and  the  man  with  the  shotgun 
has  to  be  quick  in  using  it  if  he  is  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  shooting  them. 

The  gophers  have  other  enemies,  among 
which  are  snakes.  For  some  weeks  in  the 
summer  of  1919  a  large  gopher  snake  made 
its  headquarters  in  a  section  of  the  golf  course 
that  was  thickly  infested  with  the  rodents. 
No  one  ever  saw  the  snake  actually  catch  a 
gopher,  but  there  were  club  members  who 
were  sure  it  lived  on  gopher  diet,  and  inter- 
fered with  the  intentions  of  snake  haters  who 
would  have  killed  it  Just  because  it  was  a 
snake.  I  saw  the  reptile  once  stretched  out 
snake  fashion  by  a  freshly  made  gopher  hole 
with  its  head  raised  about  four  inches  over 
the  hole.  As  the  time  of  day  was  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning  I  concluded  it  was  pos- 
sible that  the  snake  was  acquainted  with  the 
hour-habits  of  the  gopher  in  coming  out  its 
hole,  and  the  snake  remaining  motionless  in 
the  position  described  for  the  several  mo- 
ments I  watched  it,  was  a  circumstance  that 
seemed  to  me  to  justify  the  thought  that  it 
was  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  a  gopher. 

Not  long  since  one  of  the  club  officials  was 
working  in  his  front  yard  when  he  discovered 
a  large  gopher  coming  across  the  road 
toward  him.  Thinking  to  frighten  the  animal 
so  it  would  possibly  leave  the  vicinity  of  his 
lawn  and  garden  he  rushed  at  it.  Greatly  to 
his  astonishment  the  gopher  did  not  turn  tail 
and  flee,  but  stood  its  ground  and  bared  its 
hideous  chisel  teeth.  When  the  man  got  near 
enough  to  kick  the  beast,  he  was  fairly 
startled,  for  before  he  could  use  his  foot  it 
took  the  initiative  in  making  attack  and  in  a 
mos^  vicious  manner  jumped  at  him.  Then 
the  man  and  gopher  "mixed  it,"  the  former 
kicking  but  missing-  the  mark  and  the  latter 
as  frequently  jumping  and  failing  to  score. 
Thus  they  battled  for  what  seemed  minutes, 
until  the  superiority  of  the  man  was  finally 
demonstrated,  the  gopher  failing  to  recover 
or  revive  after  receiving  a  blow  from  the  toe 
of  a  heavy  shoe  that  sent  it  flying  several 
feet  through  the  air. 

I  have  seen  a  number  of  gophers  in  the 
course  of  my  outdoor  life  out  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground  but  never  very  far  from  their 
holes,  into  which  they  always  made  quick 
retreat   at   the   slightest   indication    of   danger. 


94 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


95 


I  should  as  soon  expect  to  be  attacked  by  a 
ground  squirrel  as  a  gopher.  The  Incident 
just  related,  though  however  surprisingly 
strange  it  may  seem,  was  witnessed  and  cor- 
roborated. 

Coons,  skunks  and  ground  squirrels  are 
about  the  only  other  wild  animals  to  be  found 
or  seen  about  the  park.  Of  the  first  men- 
tioned, it  is  seldom  one  is  so  bold  as  to  show 
itself  during  the  daytime.  Occasionally  one  is 
seen  prowling  about  the  place  in  the  night- 
time, but  indisputable  evidence  of  their  being 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  park  are  their 
numerous  footprints  made  in  the  dust  of  road- 
ways and  paths.  One  of  the  employees  of  the 
Club,  who  was  quite  expert  in  trapping  ani- 
mals, last  season  caught  a  number  of  coons, 
one  of  which  was  an  albino.  The  ordinary 
markings  of  a  coon  are  gray  body  and  black 
and  white  face,  but  this  particular  animal  was 
all  white  and  the  parts  that  were  commonly 
black  were  the  whitest.  The  other  parts  were 
almost  a  yellowish  or  a  dirty  white.  These 
changes  in  the  color  of  the  animal  so  altered 
its  general  appearance  it  was  some  time  before 
anyone  identified  its  true  character  when  ex- 
hibited at  the  club. 

Skunks  are  an  extremely  unpopular  race  of 
animals.  So  much  so  that  very  few  people  know 
what  they  look  like.  If  one  can  be  induced  to 
lay  aside  his  prejudice  it  is  then  possible  for 
him  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  these  animals 
are  unusually  attractive  in  appearance.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  obnoxious  smell  that  they 
occasionally  distribute  about  places  and  at 
times  when  least  desired  or  expected,  they 
would  be  called  or  classed  as  being  among  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  our  wild  animals.  They 
are  shapely  and  strikingly  marked  in  black 
and  white,  and  carry  themselves  with  grace, 
dignity  and  an  independence  that  seems  in- 
spired by  a  consciousness  of  the  possession  of 
a  weapon  of  defense  and  offense,  for  which 
the  rest  of  animal  life  has  a  wholesome  respect, 
if  not  fear.  I  have  never  been  able  to  put  a 
skunk  to  flight  in  a  more  rapid  pace  than  a 
deliberate  walk  and  even  then  the  order  of 
its  moving  off  was  always  a  matter  of  its  own 
choosing.  From  what  I  have  seen  of  the  habits 
of  these  animals  I  think  there  is  no  danger  of 
a  person  being  assailed  in  the  manner  which 
they  are  so  commonly  thought  to  act,  unless 
they  are  first  attacked.  They  are  not  vicious 
and  are  easily  tamed  but  probably  will  never 
make  popular  pets. 

A  half-grown  one  remained  about  the 
grounds  of  our  place  at  Diablo  for  several 
days.  It  would  come  up  to  the  back  door  and 
eat  out  of  the  same  dish  with  four  young  cats. 
The  cats  and  skunk  got  along  together  with- 
out the  appearance  of  the  slightest  disagree- 
ment. The  morning  when  I  first  detected  the 
presence  of  the  animal,  by  slowly  edging  up  to 
where  it  was  feeding  I  was  able  to  approach 
within  six  feet  of  it.  It  then  began  to  exhibit 
signs  of  objection  to  any  further  attempt  to 
closer  familiarity  on  my  part.  It  backed  a 
short  distance  with  its  head  and  face  turned 
my  way,  then  suddenly  it  jumped  a  few  inches 
toward  me  with  its  front  paws  sticking  out 
straight   and    striking   the   ground   with   them, 


to  let  me  know  it  was  getting  angered.  Sev- 
eral other  kinds  of  animals  express  a  rising 
and  dangerous  temper  by  striking  the  ground 
with  one  or  both  of  their  front  feet,  but  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  to  observe  the  skunk  act- 
ing in  this  manner.  It  made  several  such 
jumps  at  different  times  during  the  day  while 
I  was  endeavoring  to  cultivate  its  acquaintance 
and  trying  to  take  its  picture  with  my  camera. 
It  was  when  I  pointed  the  instrument  at  it 
that  it  displayed  the  most  temper,  and  I  con- 
fess to  a  little  nervousness,  but  nothing  hap- 
pened. However,  I  saw  the  little  animal  but 
once  thereafter. 

Besides  annoying  some  of  the  families  resid- 
ing in  the  park  grounds  and  who  keep  chickens, 
the  greatest  damage  for  which  these  animals 
are  responsible  is  digging  little  holes  in  the 
lawns  and  putting-greens  of  the  golf  course  in 
their  search  for  grubs,  or  larvae,  to  be  found 
in  damp  soil.  Though  occasionally  there  is 
just  cause  for  complaint  for  their  polution  of 
the  nigth  air,  which  ordinarily  is  so  soft,  pure 
and  enjoyable.  Since  the  pelts  of  these  ani- 
mals have  become  so  valuable  and  so  many 
have  been  trapped  hereabouts,  there  has  been 
but  little  to  complain  of  even  in  this  matter. 

About  the  most  numerous  of  all  wild  life  in 
and  around  the  park  or  club  grounds  are  the 
ground  squirrels.  This  seems  quite  remarkable 
from  the  fact  that  ten  years  or  so  ago  a  war 
of  extermination  was  declared  against  the 
rodents  after  the  discovery  that  they  were  car- 
riers of  the  disease  germs  known  as  the 
bubonic  plague.  They  were  shot,  asphyxiated 
and  poisoned  by  agents  working  systematically 
under  the  direction  of  government  and  county 
officials,  to  say  nothing  of  what  the  owners 
of  infested  land  did  to  the  squirrels  to  protect 
their  crops.  These  campaigns  at  the  time 
seemed  effective  and  were  carried  on  season 
after  season  until  it  was  difficult  to  find  a 
squirrel  in  the  localities  where  the  offensive 
operations  were  conducted.  Through  inability 
to  secure  or  enforce  cooperation  of  the  land- 
owners with  the  officials,  the  infested  sections 
were  not  thoroughly  gone  over.  A  colony  here 
and  there  was  passed  by.  These,  with  the  few 
that  escaped  the  deadly  fumes  of  carbon  bi- 
sulphide, the  poison  and  the  shotguns,  have 
been  sufficient  to  restore  the  numbers  of 
squirrels  in  some  of  the  depopulated  districts 
where  the  war  of  extermination  has  not  been 
rigidly  maintained.  This  part  of  Contra  Costa 
county  appears  to  be  one  of  these  districts. 

Going  over  a  low  hill  near  the  last  green 
of  the  golf  course  I  suddenly  intruded  upon  a 
colony  of  fifty  or  more  squirrels  out  feeding, 
playing  or  sunning  themselves  in  a  space  of 
not  more  than  an  acre  of  ground.  One  old 
squirrel  quickly  gave  utterance  to  several  loud, 
sharp  squeaks,  which  an  imaginative  hearer 
might  have  interpreted  as  "Beat  it!  Beat  it! 
Beat  it!"  Whether  the  interpretation  was  cor- 
rect or  not,  whatever  it  said  was  an  effective 
signal  of  warning,  for  in  less  time  than  it  takes 
to  say  it,  every  squirrel  was  scurrying  to  a 
hole.  Under  such  circumstances  the  animals 
do  not  seem   particular  about  what  hole  they 


96 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


go  into.  When  rather  closely  pressed  I  have 
seen  them  take  to  the  large,  deep  cracks  in 
adobe  land.  / 

The  ground  squirrels  are  a  serious  pest  to 
the  farmers  in  many  parts  of  the  state,  in  that 
they  consume  quite  a  percentage  of  the  crops 
before  they  can  be  harvested.  They  also 
damage  stock  ranges  in  some  sections  by  their 
numberless  burrows  and  by  feeding  on  the 
grass  seeds.  Government  officials  conducting 
the  war  on  the  rodents  have  collected  some 
very  interesting  statistics  in  relation  to  this 
matter.  In  sections  of  the  state  where  they 
had  been  operating  for  several  seasons,  they 
secured  statements  of  the  owners  of  several 
farms  showing  the  gross  receipts  of  farm  prod- 
ucts for  a  term  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the 
attempt  to  exterminate  the  squirrels,  and  then 
statements  from  the  same  farmers  for  the  term 
following  or  after  the  lands  had  been  thor- 
oughly cleared  of  the  pests.  The  gain  to  the 
farmers  was  surprisingly  large  and  fully 
demonstrated  that  they  had  been  suffering 
losses  that  could  be  obviated  by  exterminating 
the   squirrels. 

The  genial  climate  of  the  Park  district  has 
not  been  overlooked  by  insect  life  common  to 
our  part  of  the  country.  Such  orders  as  seem 
adapted  to  the  conditions  here  are  generally 
to  be  found  well  represented  in  large  numbers. 
As  a  consequence  the  grounds  are  at  times 
visited  by  various  insectiverous  birds.  Flocks 
of  blue  birds  are  to  be  seen  at  almost  any  hour 
and  nearly  every  day  upon  some  part  of  the 
fairway  of  the  golf  course.  "What  particular 
insect,  or  insects,  they  feed  upon  I  have,  so 
far,  been  unable  to  determine.  Recently  while 
watching  the  actions  of  some  of  these  birds 
I  saw  a  bird  suddenly  fly  upward  from  the 
ground  in  chase  after  a  large  locust  or  what 
is  commonly  styled  a  grasshopper.  The  re- 
markable thing  about  the  incident  was  the 
unusual  height  to  which  the  insect  flew  and 
its  darting  first  one  way  and  then  another  in 
its  effort  to  escape  its  feathered  enemy. 
Though  the  bluebird  was  quick  on  the  wing 
and  closely  followed  the  dips  and  turns  of 
the  locust,  the  latter  finally  succeeded  in 
avoiding  it  and  escaped.  The  actions  of  both 
bird  and  insect  seemed  to  be  prompted  by 
something  more  than  instinct. 

Species  of  what  Fabre  styles  the  Hunting 
Wasps  are  very  common  in  the  park.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  of  these  insects  be- 
longs to  the  Pompilidae  family,  which 
specializes  on  spiders  as  game.  They  are  in- 
teresting not  only  for  their  large  size  and 
beauty,  but  their  intelligent  actions.  Their 
Jet  black  bodies  with  orange  colored  wings 
and  long  legs  give  them  a  striking  appearance, 
frequently  attracting  the  attention  of  people 
not  specially  interested  in  insect  life  and 
prompting  them  to  inquire  as  to  what  they 
are.  After  the  sun  has  risen  high  enough 
above  the  eastern  horizon  to  give  a  temperature 
agreeable  to  the  wasps,  a  short  walk  in  almost 
any  part  of  the  grounds  at  the  proper  season 
is  almost  certain  to  bring  to  one's  notice  one 
or  more  of  the  big  fellows  either  flying  around 
rather  close  to  the  ground  or  walking  rapidly 
about    hunting    for    spiders.      While    observing 


the  thoroughness  of  search  they  make  for  vic- 
tims, under  fallen  leaves,  in  cracks  and  holes 
in  the  earth,  in  bits  of  accumulated  rubbish  or 
grass,  omitting  no  place  in  which  a  spider 
could  hide,  my  mind  would  revert  to  the  sim- 
ilarity of  their  actions  to  those  of  a  good  pointer 
or  setter  dog  working  among  a  bevy  of  quail 
scattered  and  under  cover  in  low  brush,  ferns 
and  rocks.  Both  show  their  eagerness  in  the 
hunt,  proximity  of  quarry  and  excitement  that 
follows  by  the  manner  of  their  agitating  cer- 
tain appendages.  With  the  dog  it  is  his  tail, 
with  the  wasp  it  is  the  antennae  on  the  op- 
posite end  of  the  creature. 

The  largest  of  this  wasp  family  will  attack 
tarantulas,  and  nearly  always  succeeds  in  over- 
coming the  huge  spiders,  though  sometimes 
the  latter  becomes  the  victor,  in  which  case 
the  tables  are  literally  turned  and  the  wasp  is 
served  up  as  food  for  the  winner. 

A  very  prettily  marked  wasp  with  slender 
waist  and  lengthy  legs  that  belongs  to  the 
genus  Sceiiphron  is  another  spider  hunter 
that  can  be  seen  on  warm  days  by  anyone 
who  knows  where  to  look  for  it.  It  will  take 
only  a  certain  kind  of  small  grass  spider, 
though  spiders  of  other  descriptions  may  be 
more  numerous.  While  I  do  not  make  this 
statement  as  resulting  from  my  own  observa- 
tions I  can  say  I  have  examined  a  great  many 
nests  of  this  wasp  and  I  never  found  any 
other  than  the   little  grass  spiders  in   them. 

These  wasps  are  the  most  common  of  our 
"mud-daubers."  Their  nests  constructed  of 
mud  consisting  of  from  three  to  a  dozen  cells 
are  ordinarily  found  about  sheds  and  build- 
ings in  the  country.  I  have  watched  them 
build  the  nests  admiring  their  mechanical 
skill,  especially  when  considering  the  paucity 
of  tools  to  work  with.  The  work  is  wholly 
done  with  their  mouth  parts  aided  by  their 
legs,  particularly  their  front  pair.  The  same 
parts  are  used  in  gathering  the  clay  or  mud. 
I  found  a  place  this  summer  that  yielded  the 
kind  of  material  the  wasps  wanted  in  the 
construction  of  their  nests,  and  I  passed  con- 
siderable time  on  various  occasions  observing 
their  actions  at  the  mud  hole  and  their  man- 
ner of  gathering  the  mud.  Sometimes  there 
would  be  as  many  as  five  or  six  wasps  in  the 
muddy  depression.  After  selecting  a  spot 
from  which  to  dig  up  their  loads  the  wasps 
would  scrape  up  the  moist  earth  with  their 
mandibles,  pushing  it  under  their  "chins" 
where  the  stuff  was  held  by  the  pair  of  front 
legs  until  pellets  as  large  or  larger  than  goose 
shot  were  accumulated.  Apparently  the 
load  was  then  seized  with  the  mandibles,  and 
with  the  aid  of  the  front  or  anterior  pair  of 
legs  carried  away  to  the  place  where  the  cells 
were  being  constructed.  I  think  I  was  most 
interested  in  the  variation  of  the  actions  of 
the  different  wasps  in  making  selections  of  the 
mud  they  needed.  Some  were  quick  to  find 
it,  others  took  more  time,  while  a  few  were 
so  particular  that  they  ran  all  around  the 
depression,  testing  this  place  and  that  seem- 
ingly being  very  difficult  to  satisfy.  In  the 
meantime  the  first  mentioned  would  make  a 
trip  or  two,  as  they  returned  directly  to  the 
spot    from    which    they    had    been    taking     the 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


97 


wet  clay.  While  gathering  the  material  some 
of  them  kept  up  a  humming  or  buzzing  noise 
which  they  seemed  to  make  in  some  other 
way  than  with  their  wings.  I  could  not  de- 
tect the  slightest  vibration  of  their  wings. 
However,  my  failure  to  note  any  movement 
of  the  wings,  did  not  fully  satisfy  me  that 
those  appendages  were  not  the  instruments 
used  in  producing  the  noise. 

While  observing  the  actions  of  the  little 
winged  visitors  to  the  mud  hole,  I  saw  only 
one  other  species  of  the  mud-daubers  there. 
It  was  blue-black  and  somewhat  smaller  than 
the  prefty  yellow  and  black  wasp  whose  oper- 
ations have  just  been  described,  but  its 
method  of  work  in  gathering  the  material  was 
not  unlike  that  of  its  larger  relative. 

The  red-headed  woodpeckers  are  among 
the  most  numerous  birds  about  the  club 
grounds.  They  can  be  seen  at  almost  any 
hour  of  the  day  and  in  almost  any  kind  of 
weather,  making  their  peculiar  dipping 
flights  about  the  park  or  from  one  oak  to 
another.  Their  harsh  but  not  disagreeable 
notes  continuously  greet  the  ear.  They  are 
busy  birds,  when  not  pilfering  in  the  almond 
and  fruit  orchards  they  are  hammering  holes 
into  the  dead  branches  of  the  big  oak  trees. 
The  rapidity  of  the  blows  remind  one  of  the 
operation  of  a  machine  hammer.  The  only 
people  who  regard  them  with  any  unfriendly 
feeling  are  the  orchardists  who  charge  the 
birds  with  taking  more  than  their  share  of 
the  nut  and  fruit  crops. 

For  some  years  past  the  yellow-hammer's, 
or  flickers,  have  been  very  numerous  here, 
but  for  some  unaccountable  reason  very  few 
are  to  be  seen  this  year.  This  bird  belongs 
to  the  woodpecker  family  but  is  considerably 
larger  than  its  red-headed  cousin.  When 
present  in  such  large  numbers  they  were 
commonly  regarded  as  a  nuisance.  They 
were  not  only  destructive  to  fruit  on  the  trees 
but  were  continually  boring  holes  under  the 
eaves  of  all  the  houses.  As  the  holes  were 
large  and  numerous  the  owners  of  the  houses 
were  not  pleased  with  the  unornamental 
work  of  the  birds.  No  more  effort  to  drive 
the  birds  away  was  made  last  season  than  had 
been  attempted  in  the  previous  years;  so 
their  departure  for  other  scenes  and  to  other 
parts  seems  to  have  been  wholly  voluntary, 
but  like  the  cat  they  may  come  back. 

The  bird  life  of  our  state  is  well  represented 
here,  but  of  all  the  birds  to  be  seen  in  and 
about  the  park,  the  humming  birds,  perhaps, 
attract  the  most  attention  from  visitors  of  the 
Club.  It  is  a  common  thing  to  see  a  hum- 
ming bird,  here  and  there,  in  almost  any  part 
of  our  state,  but  it  is  unusual  to  find  them 
congregated  in  such  numbers  as  are  frequently 
witnessed  in  the  flower  gardens  of  the  Club, 
especially  when  the  salvia  plants  are  in  blos- 
som. The  bright  scarlet  flowers  seem  to 
have  more  than  ordinary  attraction  for  the 
little  birds,  for  while  the  salvia  is  in  bloom 
they  show  no  interest  in  the  other  flowers 
which  are  there  in  profusion.  I  have  noticed 
elsewhere  this  preference  for  red  flowers 
manifested  by  the  humming  birds;  so  this  in- 
stance at  Diablo   is  not  exceptional.      A   large 


bed  of  salvia  was  located  near  the  front  en- 
trance to  the  club  house  where  members  and 
visitors  were  passing  continually  to  and  fro, 
but  the  beautiful  little  creatures  seemed  to 
have  little  fear  of  human  kind.  No  matter 
how  many  people  were  about  the  birds  would 
be  darting  from  flower  to  flower,  or  hovering 
over  blossoms  seeking  their  sweets  with  their 
long  slender  bills,  or  be  perched  on  some 
projecting  leaf  or  little  branch  where  the 
glint  of  the  sunlight  added  to  the  display  of 
their  brilliant  coats.  It  was  no  trouble  to 
approach  within  six  or  seven  feet  of  the  birds 
and  sometimes  with  a  little  care  much  less. 

While  different  kinds  of  humming  birds  have 
been  noted  hereabouts  the  birds  visiting  the 
club  gardens  appeared  to  be  largely  of  one 
species,  known  as  the  ruby-throated  humming 
bird. 

The  blackheaded  grossbeak  and  bullock 
oriole  appear  in  the  park  grounds  in  large 
numbers  every  spring.  These  '  birds  of  beau- 
tiful plumage  remain  with  us  while  nesting 
and  rearing  their  young.  Their  singing  is  the 
most  musical  of  all  the  bird  voices  heard  here 
and  attract  the  attention  of  nearly  all  visitors. 

In  addition  to  about  forty  different  resident 
birds,  a  variety  of  other  species  of  the 
featherd  tribe  visit  the  park  at  different  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  Of  the  visitants,  the  Pileo- 
lated  warbler,  with  the  scientific  name  of 
Wilsonia  pusilla  pi  loo  lata,  is  probably  the 
most  notable.  Not  on  account  of  size,  how- 
ever, for  it  is  a  small  bird.  The  feature 
making  its  visits  conspicuous  is  the  enormous 
number  that  gather  here.  They  come  in  the 
spring  when  the  flower  and  leaf  buds  on  the 
elm  trees  begin  to  open,  and  remain  until  the 
blossoming  period  closes.  I  have  never  seen 
any  of  the  birds  about  the  park  prior  to  the 
event  mentioned,  and  soon  after  the  elm 
blossoms  wither  and   fall  the  birds  disappear. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  the  elm  trees. 
They  were  planted  many  years  ago  along  a 
roadway  of  the  grounds'  for  a  distance  of 
over  half  a  mile.  Apparently  the  nectar  of 
the  tree  blossoms  attract  certain  insects 
which  in  turn  attracts  the  birds,  they  being  of 
the  insectivorous  class.  I  have  observed  the 
presence  of  the  visitors  in  the  spring  of  the 
last  three  years,  and  on  each  occasion  the 
number  was  about  the  same.  Each  elm  tree 
would  be  filled  with  the  little  beauties  m 
ceaseless  activity  from  morning  until  night. 
The  birds  would  flit  from  one  branch  to 
another  and  from  one  blossom  to  another 
until  it  appeared  as  if  every  possible  flower 
must  be  visited  time  and  time  again  during 
the  day.  On  several  occasions  I  endeavored 
to  make  an  exact  count  of  the  number  of 
birds  in  a  single  tree,  but  their  active  move- 
ments made  it  impossible.  I  could  only  esti- 
mate the  number  by  making  several  counts  in 
a  small  portion  of  a  tree.  In  this  way  I  reached 
the  conclusion  that  there  were  at  least  eighty 
birds  on  an  average  to  each  of  the  elm  trees, 
As  there  were  fifty-two  trees  I  concluded 
there  were  somewhere  near  4000  of  these 
sweet  little  songsters,  that  remained  all  day 
long  in  the  trees  described.  At  about  half- 
past   eight   o'clock   in   the    mornings   they   be- 


98 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


gan  to  sing  and  continued  the  warblings  until 
a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon.  These  daily  bird 
musicales  were  on  a  scale  that  is  seldom  one's 
good  fortune  'o  be  a  listener  to.  A  street 
with  blocks  of  canary  bird  stores  facing  each 
side  would  no  more  than  rival  the  bird 
melody  in  volume  and  sweetness  that  was 
produced  by  these  songsters  in  their  free  and 
wild   state. 

These  birds  are   about  the  size  of  the  Gold 
Finch  or  Wild  Canary  so  common   about  this 


part  of  the  country.  The  black  and  yellow 
markings  on  the  males  of  both  species  are 
somewhat  similar.  In  fact  the  similarity  in 
size  and  coloring  is  sufficient  to  mislead  all 
but  students  of  bird  life  in  identifying  the 
warbler  when  it  visits  our  section,  but  its  song 
is  very  different  and  when  heard  at  once 
marks  it  a  stranger.  Besides  the  Gold  Finch 
is  a  seed  eating  bird,  while  the  warbler  feeds 
on   insects  and   is  classed  as  a  fly-catcher. 


LAKE   OF  THE  DIABLO  COUNTRY  CLUB,   SHOWING  THE  BATH  HOUSE 

AND  PLATFORM 


CHAPTER  XIV 


A  PLUCKY  WASP 

An  Example  of  the  Value  of  Persistent  Effort  in  the  Accomplishment 

of  a  Difficult  Feat 


At  Brookdale,  Santa  Cruz  county,  Calif.,  on 
one  of  those  afternoons  in  the  month  of 
April  when  the  freshness  of  nature  and  a 
balmy  air  call  all  forms  of  life  into  activity, 
some  members  of  my  family  started  out  for 
a  walk,  while  I  remained  on  the  banks  of  the 
San  Lorenzo,  whipping  the  stream  for  a  few 
trout  for  the  next  day's  breakfast.  The  river 
bank  at  this  particular  locality  formed  the 
front  door  yard  of  our  home.  The  folks 
had  not  proceeded  far  when  they  discovered 
on  the  roadside  a  spider  wasp  that  had  cap- 
tured a  spider  of  about  twice  its  size  and 
was  dragging  it  along  the  ground.  Knowing 
my  interest  in  the  life  history  of  members  of 
the  wasp  family  and  realizing  their  discovery 
was  that  of  an  important  proceeding  in  the 
perpetuation  of  the  specie  of  this  particular 
wasp,  I  was  quickly  summoned.  Laying  aside 
my  rod  I  joined  the  party  at  the  roadside. 

On  this  spot  the  road  was  graded  two  feet 
or  more  below  the  level  of  the  ground  on 
either  side,  leaving  almost  perpendicular  banks 
of  earth.  The  run  off  of  storm  water  had 
cut  or  worn  somewhat  of  a  gully  along  the 
base  of  the  bank  on  the  north  side  in  the 
bottom  of  which  was  gravel  and  cobble  stones. 
Here  and  there  in  the  face  of  the  bank  there 
were  holes  with  about  the  diameter  of  a  lead 
pencil.  The  relation  of  these  details  are 
necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  de- 
scription of  what  was  taking  place. 

When  first  discovered,  the  wasp,  which  was 
one  of  those  with  blue  black  wings  and  a 
dark  red  body  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  long,  was  dragging  a  large,  limp  and 
apparently  lifeless  spider  towards  the  road- 
side bank  in  which  were  the  holes  mentioned. 
The  wasp  was  walking  backwards,  dragging 
its  victim  by  one  of  its  legs  over  the  rough 
bottom  of  the  little  gully.  Reaching  a  cer- 
tain point  under  one  of  the  holes,  it  im- 
mediately started  backing  up  the  bank  with 
its  load. 

To  us,  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  habits 
of  wasps,  it  was  apparent  that  its  objective 
was  one  of  the  "larger  holes  about  eighteen 
inches  up  from  the  base  of  the  bank;  but  it 
did  not  seem  possible  that  the  little  wasp 
would  ever  succeed  in  elevating  the  bulky 
spider  to  that  point  or  even  to  a  less  height 
for  that  matter.  The  wall  up  which  it  was 
climbing  was  filled  with  little  projecting 
stones  and  rootlets,  which  greatly  added  to 
the  difficulties  of  the  wasp.  These  obstacles 
would  catch  the  loose  legs  or  body  of  the 
spider  and  hold  it  until  the  wasp  by  repeated 
tugging  from  varied  positions  would  succeed 
in  releasing  her  prize. 


The  interferences  were  overcome  one  by 
one  until  a  small  shelving  projection  of  earth 
was  reached.  Here  Mrs.  Wasp  dropped  her 
load  and  went  running  around  the  face  of 
the  small  cliff,  nosing  about  as  if  in  search 
of  something  or  to  get  the  bearings  of  her 
destination.  Seemingly  she  satisfied  herself, 
whatever  her  purpose  may  have  been,  for 
she  returned  to  the  place  where  she  had  left 
the  helpless  spider,  to  find  that  in  her 
absence  it  had  rolled  off  the  shelf  and  had 
fallen   to  the   bottom   of  the  gully. 

The  wasp  seemed  to  know  at  once  what  had 
happened,  for  she  quickly  followed  down  and 
after  a  brief  hunt  found  the  spider,  and  im- 
mediately seized  it  by  a  leg  and  started  up 
the  bank  again,  going  backwards  towards  the 
same  point  as  before.  This  time  she  reached 
a  spot  about  eighteen  inches  from  the  base 
of  the  bank,  where  the  holes  previously 
mentioned  were  located.  One  of  the  larger 
holes  opened  among  some  small  roots  that  pro- 
jected and  hung  down  from  the  face  of  the 
bank,  and  in  front  of  the  entrance  there  was 
a  very  narrow  and  sloping  shelf.  This  hole 
proved  to  be  the  entrance  to  her  nest  and  in 
which   she   intended   to  deposit  the  spider. 

Having  dragged  the  victim,  up  the  bank 
after  much  trouble  and  exertion  to  a  place 
within  a  couple  of  inches  of  the  hole  and 
among  the  little  roots,  she  released  her  hold 
while  she  went  to  the  hole,  possibly  to  see  if 
everything  was  all  right  to  receive  the  spider. 
She  entered  the  hole  but  quickly  reappeared 
and  then  started  for  the  place  where  she  had 
left  the  spider,  but  it  was  not  there,  for  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  wasp  the  spider  slipped 
off  and  fell  once  more  to  the  bottom  of  the 
bank.  She  did  not  spend  more  than  a  second 
or  two  searching  about  for  her  game  to 
make  sure  she  had  not  overlooked  it.  Satis- 
fying herself  it  was  gone  she  knew  just 
where  to  find  it,  for  she  flew  down  to  the 
gully  almost  to  the  exact  spot  where  the 
spider  lay. 

Perhaps  it  would  add  more  interest  to  the 
story  if  I  should  explain  here  for  those  who 
are  not  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the  wasp 
family,  that  the  purpose  of  the  wasp  in  cap- 
turning  the  spider  was  to  provide  food  for  its 
young.  Upon  catching  a  spider  the  wasp 
stabs  it  with  her  stinger  until  it  is  paralyzed 
and  helpless  or  is  killed.  The  victim  is  taken 
to  the  nest  or  cell  provided  for  its  reception. 
There  the  wasp  lays  an  egg  which  she  at- 
taches to  a  favorable  spot  on  the  spider  so 
the  baby  wasp  as  soon  as  it  is  hatched  can 
begin  feeding  on  it.  Ordinarily  as  soon  as 
the  egg  laying  is  finished  the  wasp  comes  out 


100 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


?  ,/ W- 


PLUCKY  WASP— DRAGGING  A  CAPTURED  SPIDER  UP  HILL  TO  ITS  NEST 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


101 


of  the  nest,  which  if  in  the  earth  like  the 
one  connected  with  the  incidents  of  this  story, 
she  then  scratches  in  sufficient  dirt  to  plug 
up  the  entrance  and  removes  all  evidence  of 
the  near-by  nest.  The  egg  may  hatch  within 
three  or  four  days.  The  larva,  however,  is 
left  to  itself  to  feed  on  the  spider  until  it  is 
ready  to  enter  the  pupa  stage,  from  which 
in  due  time  it  emerges  a  mature  wasp. 

The  mother  wasp  repeats  the  operation 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  season.  Just 
how  often  it  is  not  well  known — then  her 
life's  work   is  done. 

Now  let  me  return  to  the  operations  of  our 
wasp.  Reaching  the  spider  she  at  once  seized 
it  as  before  and  started  up  the  bank.  Al- 
though going  backwards  she  had  no  trouble 
in  keeping  the  proper  directions.  She  en- 
countered several  obstacles  as  on  the  previous 
occasions,  but  finally  reached  her  hole,  into 
which  she  backed.  The  spider  was  drawn 
only  partly  into  the  entrance.  Here  she  either 
purposely  released  her  hold  while  she  went 
back  into  the  nest  to  see  if  everything  was  all 
right,  or  lost  it  by  the  spider  jamming  in  the 
hole.  However  it  Was,  the  spider  upon  being 
released  fell  back  and  rolled  down  the  bank 
again.  The  wasp  soon  came  out  and  as  be- 
fore seemed  to  know  what  had  happened,  for 
without  delay  she  flew  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  bank  and  recovered  her  game.  She 
at  once  began  the  labor  of  taking  it  ud  the 
cliff  without  exhibiting  the  least  sign  of  dis- 
couragement, but  the  result  of  this  trip  was 
a   failure  as  with   the   other   attempts. 

The  tenacity  of  purpose  of  this  little  insect 
bordered  on  the  marvelous,  for  she  made  six 
more  failures  before  success  crowned  her 
persistent  efforts.  Each  of  these  succeeding 
trips  up  the  bank  with  the  huge  limp  body 
of  the  spider  was  like  the  preceding  attempts, 
except  twice  the  spider  in  falling  dropped 
down  out  of  sight  between  some  cobble  stones. 
The  wasp  seemed  to  be  unable  to  recover  it, 
so  we  took  it  out  of  the  crevice  and  laid  it  on 
a  smooth  place  in  plain  sight,  where  she 
quickly  found  it.  Once  she  took  the  spider 
to  a  place  about  two  inches  above  the  entrance 
to  her  nest  and*  hung  it  in  a  mass  of  little 
rootlets  that  projected  from  the  face  of  the 
bank  while  she  made  the  inspection  visit  to 
her  nest  preparatory  to  taking  the  victim  in. 
When  she  came  back  she  made  the  mistake 
of  seizing  her  prize  from  below.  A  few  quick 
tugs  loosened  the  spider  and  its  greater  weight 
jerked  the  wasp  from  her  foothold,  but  not 
her  mouthhold.  for  the  two  went  rolling  down 
the  bank  together  and  when  they  reached  the 
bottom  the  wasp  still  had  a  firm  grasp  of  one 
of  the  legs  of  the  spider. 

On  the  final  trip  the  wasp  took  the  victim 
to  the  spot  two  inches  above  the  entrance  of 
her  nest  and  left  it  as  she  did  on  the  occasion 
just  related.  This  time  upon  her  return  she 
did  not  attempt  to  move  it  as  she  did  then, 
but  went  to  the  upper  side  of  the  spider  and 
lifted  it  free  of  the  rootlets  and  lowered  it 
to  a  place  adjoining  the  entrance  of  the  nest, 
where  by  the  aid  of  an  outhanging  rootlet 
she  found  a  temporary  resting  place  for  the 
bulky  game  while  she  made  another  trip  to 
the  interior  of  the  nest. 


Just  why  the  wasps  of  this  character  follow 
the  practice  of  leaving  their  game  near  the 
entrances  of  their  nests  while  they  make  a 
visit  to  the  interior  is  not  understood,  unless 
it  is,  as  some  observers  and  students  of  wasp 
habits  assume,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  that 
everything  is  all  right  for  receiving  the  prize. 

Accepting  this  theory  as  being  correct  then 
our  wasp  must  have  found  conditions  favor- 
able for  the  reception  of  the  spider,  for  when 
she  came  out  she  went  directly  to  the  prize 
and  seized  it,  not  by  the  legs  as  she  had  been 
doing,  but  this  time  by  its  hindmost  part,  the 
apex  of  its  abdomen.  This  change  of  method 
in  handling  the  game  suggested  that  she  knew 
that  the  only  way  the  spider  could  be  hauled 
into  the  nest  was  endwise;  that  by  dragging 
it  by  a  leg  would  bring  the  body  athwart  the 
entrance,  making  it  impossible  to  pull  it  in. 
It  was  plain  now  that  she  had  conquered  all 
the  difficulties  that  had  interfered  with  her 
depositing  the  prize  in  the  nest  after  capture, 
and  further  proceeding  was  a  simple  matter. 

She  walked  backwards  into  the  hole,  pull- 
ing the  spider  after  her.  As  the  body  of  the 
latter  began  to  disappear  it  was  evident  that 
it  was  a  "tight  fit."  In  fact,  it  was  so  tight 
that  for  a  few  seconds  it  looked  as  if  the 
bulky  prize  had  blocked  the  entrance  and 
turned  the  tables  on  the  wasp  by  imprison- 
ing her  in  the  nest.  But  not  so,  as  little  by 
little  the  spider  was  disappearing  into  the 
hole,  gradually  moving  in  response  to  the 
tugging  of  the  wasp  and  finally  passing  out 
of  sight. 

I  looked  at  my  watch  and  saw  that  it  was 
quarter  past  three.  From  previous  observa- 
tion of  the  habits  of  other  wasps  of  this 
family  I  expected  our  wasp  to  lay  an  egg  and 
attach  it  to  the  lifeless  body  of  the  immured 
spider  and  then  return  to  the  entrance  of  the 
nest  and  plug  or  fill  up  the  hole,  and  thus 
remove  all  outward  evidence  of  its  existence. 
After  waiting  five  minutes  I  began  to  think 
that  probably  the  wasp  had  been  unable  to 
pull  the  prize  all  the  way  down  to  the  en- 
larged cavity  at  the  bottom  of  the  nest  and 
was  actually  imprisoned.  Ten.  twenty,  thirty 
and  finally  forty  minutes  passed  and  no  wasp 
appeared.  Was  she  unable  to  come  out? 
Knowing  her  remarkable  powers  in  excavat- 
ing earth  and  her  strength  in  limb  and  body 
I  could  not  bring  myself  to  that  conclusion. 
I  thought  it  more  probable,  as  it  was  now 
nearly  4  o'clock  and  the  chilly  air  of  the 
evening  was  coming  on,  the  wasp  had  merely 
suspended  operations. 

So  it  proved  to  be,  as  will  be  shown  by 
what  followed.  The  next  day  I  visited  the 
scene  of  operations  and  found  the  entrance 
open  just  as  we  left  it  the  previous  day.  and 
it  remained  that  way  for  five  days  more.  The 
weather  during  this  period  was  cold,  cloudy 
and  rainy.  It  is  well  known  that  wasps  of 
nearly  all  kinds  are  partial  to  warm  weather 
and  disposed  to  remain  "indoorb"  while  it  is 
cold  and  unpleasant  outside.  Now  came  a 
bright  and  sunshiny  day.  Early  in  the  fore- 
noon we  went  to  the  nest  and  found  Mrs. 
Wasp  at  work  sealing  up  the  entrance.  She 
seemed  to  be  working  quite  leisurely,  con- 
trary to  the  habit   of  her  kind  in  this  opera- 


102 


•  • 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


tion.  We  could  not  see  how  she  was  doing 
the  work,  for  she  was  operating  from  the  in- 
side and  only  a  small  part  of  her  posterior 
was  visible. 

We  left  the  wasp  at  her  work,  but  return- 
ing in  about  an  hour  we  found  the  hole  com- 
pletely filled  even  with  the  face  of  the  bank, 
and  therefore  were  disappointed  in  not  hav- 
ing been   able  to  witness  this  final  operation. 

Marking  the  spot  for  future  observation 
we  left  it  undisturbed  for  a  week.  At  the 
end  of  this  period  we  concluded  to  excavate 
the  nest  and  ascertain  if  possible  what  had 
taken  place  within  the  depths.  By  carefully 
cutting  down  the  bank  we  found  the  hole  en- 
tered the  earth  on  an  incline  of  about  25  de- 
grees to  a  depth  of  nearly  five  inches.  We 
found  the  remains  of  the  spider  in  a  rather 
advanced  stage  of  decomposition,  indicating 
that  the  wasp  had  killed  it  at  the  time  of  cap- 
ture instead  of  paralyzing  it.  To  our  surprise 
we  found  no  larva. 

Evidently  the  wasp  had  not  deposited  an 
egg  in  the  nest  with  the  spider.  However, 
failures  of  this  nature  have  been  noted  by 
several  students  of  the  habits  and  actions  of 
the  members  of  the  wasp  family.  So  the  seem- 
ing neglect  of  our  wasp  was  not  an  exceptional 
case,  strange  as  it  may  appear  that  after  all 
the  labor  and  trouble  she  had  experienced  in 
preparing  the  nest,  capturing  the  spider  and 
hoisting  it  to  the  cell  she  should  then  fail  to 
perform  the  one  act  for  which  all  her  work 
and    time    expended    was   the    sole    purpose. 

Another  interesting  incident  witnessed  while 
watching  the  operations  of  the  wasp  was  the 
action  of  a  small  fly  of  the  same  species  men- 
tioned in  the  stories  of  the  Digging  Wasps. 
From  its  actions  it  evidently  was  watching  for 
an  opportunity  to  deposit  some  of  its  eggs  on 
the  body  of  the  spider.  When  the  wasp  was 
struggling  to  place  the  spider  in  the  hole  the 
fly  remained  perched  on  a  rootlet  near  the 
entrance  turning  this  way  and  that  way  so 
that  it  could  see  all  that  was  taking  place. 
When  the  wasp  would  disappear  in  the  hole 
the  fly  would  instantly  hover  over  the  mouth 


of  it,  but  retreat  as  quickly  when  the  wasp 
came  out.  The  behavior  of  the  bold  little  in- 
sect clearly  indicated  that  it  fully  understood 
the  object  and  purpose  of  the  wasp  as  well 
as  recognized  her  dangerous  character.  The 
wasp  was  so  long  engaged  in  the  operation  of 
burying  the  spider  that  the  fly  probably  be- 
came impatient,  for  it  went  away  before  the 
wasp  succeeded  in  its  efforts. 

It  is  well  known  among  entomologists  that 
the  method  attempted  by  the  fly  is  one,  if 
not  the  only  one,  adopted  by  its  species  for  the 
perpetuation  of  its  kind.  The  eggs  of  the  fly 
hatch  quickly  and  the  larvae  appropriate  the 
provisions  provided  by  the  wasp.  If  the  egg  of 
the  latter  hatches  the  larva  also  becomes  a 
victim  in  satisfying  the  voracious  appetites  of 
the  growing  fly  babies. 

This  wasp  belongs  to  the  division  known  as 
Psamimocharidae,  all  members  of  which  prey 
chiefly  on  spiders.  There  are  several  species 
of  which  the  Tarantula  hawk,  or  Pepsis,  is 
one.  This  is  a  giant  among  the  wasps  and 
preys  upon  Tarantulas,  the  giants  of  the  spider 
race. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  I  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  reading  Phil  and  Nellie  Rau's 
"Wasp  Studies  Afield"  and  found  a  story  of 
their  observation  of  the  actions  of  a  spider 
hunting  wasp  in  disposing  of  a  spider  in  a 
hole  in  a  bank,  in  Missouri,  wherein  the  con- 
ditions and  circumstances  were  quite  similar 
to  those  related  by  me.  In  their  case,  however, 
the  wasp  made  twenty  or  more  attempts  before 
it  succeeded  in  getting  its  victim  in  the  hole. 
The  method^  and  actions  of  their  wasp  were 
so  nearly  the  same  as  the  Brookdale  wasp  one 
might  be  justified  in  assuming  they  were  of 
the  same  specie. 

Priocnemls  pompilus  is  the  name  given  to 
the  wasp  described  by  the  Raus.  Not  having 
collected  any  specimens  of  the  Brookdale  wasp 
I  am  unable  to  give  the  species  to  which  it 
belongs  or  be  more  definite  than  to  say  the 
one  observed  by  me  is  a  member  of  the 
Psammocharidae  family,  as  is  the  ine  noted 
by   the  Raus. 


CHAPTER  XV 


INSTINCT  OR  REASON 

Discussion  of  an  Old  Question.     Incidents  of  a  Remarkable  Character  Cited 
to  Show  a  Higher  Impulse  to  Action  than  Mere  Instinct 


Whether  the  actions  of  all  forms  of  animal 
life  below  mankind  are  guided  by  instinct  or 
directed  through  the  possession  of  some  de- 
gree of  mentality  as  well  as  instinct,  is  a 
question  discussed  for  ages  past,  and  upon 
which  much  has  been  written  by  distinguished 
observers  and  students  of  Nature's  work.  For 
many  years  of  my  younger  life  I  was  one  of 
the  many,  if  not  the  majority,  of  people  who 
looked  upon  the  lower  forms  of  life  as  being 
devoid  of  all  consciousness,  acting  wholly 
under  an  impulse  of  instinct,  and  it  was  not 
until  I  had  reached  mature  years,  and  ex- 
perienced closer  contact  with  Nature,  and  in- 
dulged in  deeper  thought,  that  I  came  to  a 
modification  of  my  views,  and  finally  reached 
the  conclusion  that  there  was  a  possibility  if 
not  probability  that  all  animal  life  except  the 
very  lowest  is  endowed  with  more  or  less  men- 
tal power. 

I  take  it  that  when  we  talk  about  animal 
instinct  we  have  in  mind  the  definition  given 
the   word   by  Webster  here   quoted: 

"Instinct,  noun,  (1)  Natural  inward  impulse; 
unconscious,  involuntary,  or  unreasoning 
prompting  to  any  mode  of  action,  whether 
bodily  or  mental,  without  a  distinct  apprehen- 
sion of  the  end  or  object  to  be  accomplished. 

"(2)  Zool,  Specif.,  the  natural  unreasoning 
impulse  by  which  an  animal  is  guided  to  per- 
formance of  any  action,  without  thought  of 
improvement  in  the  method." 

Paley  said,  "An  instinct  is  a  propensity 
prior  to  experience,  and  independent  of  in- 
struction." 

Whately  said  it  "is  a  blind  tendency  to  some 
mode  of  action,  independent  of  any  considera- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  agent,  of  the  end  to 
which   the  action   leads." 

It  would  seem  to  follow  then  that  in  what- 
ever way  instinctive  action  is  manifested  it 
would  with  individuals  of  the  same  species 
be  the  same  in  all  cases  under  the  same  im- 
pulses and   circumstance. 

Whether  or  not  there  exists  in  the  lower 
orders  of  animal  life  any  degree  of  conscious- 
ness and  power  of  reasoning,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted, is  a  question  not  yet  determined  by  any 
findings  or  observation  accepted  as  a  scientific 
fact.  However,  I  am  inclined  to  the  thought 
that  the  majority  of  thinkers  are  disposed  to 
a  negative  opinion  holding  that  the  acts  of 
the  individuals  of  the  lower  form  of  life  are 
wholly  instinctive  without  the  guidance  of 
reason. 

It  seems  to  me  that  without  the  power  of 
reasoning  the  individual  could  have  no  con- 
sciousness   of    its    being    or    its    existence,      no 


realization  of  suffering  pain  from  inflicted  in- 
jury, nor  could  it  entertain  any  apprehensions 
of  injury  or  fear  of  death. 

If  I  could  bring  myself  to  this  way  of  think- 
ing I  could  resume  the  use  of  the  rifle  and 
shotgun  in  quest  of  game  with  zest,  enthusiasm 
and  that  enjoyment  of  exhilarating  sport  that 
comes   to   all    field   sportsmen. 

Having  indulged  the  hunting  passion  in  me 
from  my  boyhood  days  until  very  recent  years, 
my  opportunity  for  the  study  and  observation 
of  the  habits  and  characteristics  of  numerous 
forms  of  animal  life  has  consequently  been 
somewhat  extended,  and  the  conclusions  I 
have  reached  and  questions  raised  in  my  mind 
are  founded  upon  my  experiences  and  obser- 
vations, free  of  connection  with  any  theoretical 
dogma  or  sympathetic  propaganda  of  dumb 
animal  protective  associations.  My  conclu- 
sions may  be  of  no  value.  I  know  they  are 
unscientific,  as  they  are  in  part  no  more  than 
deductions  based  on  human  experience.  Be- 
ing unable  to  communicate  with  animals  we 
can  form  opinions  only  from  observed  actions 
measured  by  our  own  experiences.  But  this 
statement  should  be  attended  with  some 
modification',  for  there  is  at  least  one  con- 
dition that  may  befall  many  forms  of  animal 
life  where  an  individual,  afflicted  by  injury 
or  put  in  extreme  distress,  can  and  does  utter 
sounds  that  are  unmistakable  in  giving  ex- 
pression to  its  sufferings,  communicating  the 
fact  to  almost  every  living  thing  within  the 
reach  of  its  voice.  This  truth  had  much  to 
do  in  rousing  my  thoughts  and  directing  them 
to  consideration  of  this  question. 

When  an  animal  is  badly  injured,  or  is 
sore,ly  distressed  by  circumstances  that 
threaten  pain  or  death  it  usually  utters 
sounds  that  one  may  never  have  heard  before, 
but  they  are  instantly  recognized  as  expressive 
of  agony,  distress  and  fear,  and  frequently 
every  other  animal  that  hears  the  sound  mani- 
fests recognition  of  its  meaning.  A  jack  rab- 
bit that  ordinarily  makes  no  vocal  sounds 
whatever,  when  in  sore  distress  will  utter 
cries  not  unlike  that  of  a  child.  There  is  no 
mistaking  the  significance  of  such  cries.  The 
"death  cry"  of  a  horse  is  wholly  unlike  any 
sound  uttered  by  it  under  ordinary  conditions, 
but  humans  and  all  other  animals  seem  to 
recognize  and  understand  its  meaning.  Similar 
peculiarities  are  found  in  birds  as  well  as  ani- 
mals, something  every  boy  who  has  robbed 
birds'  nests  will  verify.  How  quickly  the  cry 
of  distress  of  the  mother  birds  excites  all 
other  birds  in  the  vicinity  and  brings  them 
circling  around.     This  responsive  action  shows 


104 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


105 


clearly  a  recognition  of  the  meaning  of  the 
notes  of  alarm  and  calls  for  help. 

The  cries  of  distress  possibly  may  not  arise 
from  any  consciousness  of  feeling  of  pain  or 
alarm  but  be  wholly  instinctive  manifestations 
incited  by  the  conditions.  We  have  no  way 
of  determining,  but  those  of  us  who  are  in- 
clined to  attribute  to  the  lower  forms  of  life 
some  degree  of  rationality  or  brainpower  and 
consciousness  of  being  that  exists  in  humans, 
are  apt  to  have  our  sympathies  excited,  feeling 
that  the  signals  are  something  more  than 
simple  instinctive  utterances  by  creatures 
endowed  with  life  but  without  consciousness. 
And  when  we  come  to  consider  the  feature 
of  recognition  of  the  meaning  or  significance 
of  the  cries  of  distress  by  other  animals  and 
birds  are  we  not  justified  in  assuming  that 
there  is  less  room  for  difference  of  opinion? 
Does  not  the  word  "recognition"  as  used  here 
imply  mental  action — a  consciousness  of 
something  unusual  taking  place — a  sufficient 
power  of  reasoning  to  interpret  the  sounds  of 
distress?  And  are  not  the  frequent  responsive 
actions  manifestations  of  emotion,  affection, 
sympathy  or  curiosity,  which  could  only  be 
the  result  of  brain  action,  involving  a  show  of  a 
certain  amount  of  intellectuality,  reasoning 
and  judgment? 

More  than  likely  opponents  would  declare 
in  response  to  these  queries,  that  they  were 
only  "instinctive  actions,"  but  when  we  know 
that  instinctive  action  is  involuntary,  an  im- 
pulse that  must  find  expression  in  the  same 
way  under  the  same  conditions<  we  find  the 
answer  incomplete  in  explaining  or  accounting 
for  the  varied  actions  of  various  animals  or 
birds  in  responding  to  sounds  of  distress.  In 
some  instances  the  responders  will  attack  the 
cause,  some  bravely  and  others  with  less  show 
of  courage,  then  again  some  will  refrain  from 
attack  if  the  cause  is  of  a  character  that  might 
endanger  their  welfare.  Here  we  have  an 
imitation  of  some  of  the  peculiarities  or 
variation  in  human  character,  bravery,  pru- 
dence and  cowardice.  It  may  be  said  these 
traits  are  instinctive.  Admitted  that  some 
men  may  be  instinctively  brave,  others  in- 
stinctively prudent  or  cowardly — that  is,  the 
primary  impulse  to  the  manifestation  of  such 
traits  of  character,  but  the  actions  following 
which  vary  according  to  conditions  must  be 
directed  by  mind  power,  indicating  rationality. 
Unquestionably  instinct  plays  a  great  part  in 
the  actions  of  all  forms  of  animal  life  and 
greater  in  proportion  as  we  descend  the  scale 
of  life;  and  in  an  action  prompted  by  an 
involuntary  impulse  (instinct)  which  ends  in 
some  manifestation  directed  by  reason  it  may 
be  difficult  to  determine  where  the  former 
ceased  and  the  latter  began,  but  the  fact  does 
not  seem  to  justify  the  assumption  of  total 
absence   of   consciousness  or  reason. 

Prof.  Kellogg  in  his  interesting  book, 
American  Insects,  asks  the  question:  "Do  the 
termite  or  white  ant,  individuals  of  a  com- 
munity communicate  with  each  other,  or  is 
the  whole  life  of  the  colony  so  inexorably 
ruled  by  instinct  that  each  individual  works 
out  its  part  without  personal  reference  to  any 
other    individual,    although    with    actual    refer- 


ence to  all  the  other  members  of  the  colony?" 
Without  directly  answering  the  question  he 
says:  "It  is  pretty  certain  that  termites  have 
a  means  of  communicating  by  sounds,  that  the 
existence  of  a  tympanal  auditory  organ  in  the 
tibiae  of  the  front  leg  has  been  shown."  If  it 
is  established  that  these  insects  actually  com- 
municate with  each  other,  and  their  actions 
seem  to  indicate  that  they  do,  would  not  such 
fact  imply  the  possession  of  a  power  beyond 
that  of  instinct — a  degree  of  rationality — ability 
to  reason?  If  ruled  by  instinct  alone  there 
would  be  no  occasion  to  communicate  with 
each  other.  Each  individual  would  work  out 
its  part  during  life  in  the  colony  without  en- 
gaging  in   any  communication. 

Much  has  been  written  in  the  way  of  re- 
cording incidents  of  apparent  communication 
between  animals  as  well  as  between  birds  and 
also  insects.  With  the  exception  of  some  in- 
stances where  I  have  noticed  dogs  acting  as 
if  information  had  passed  from  one  to  the 
other.  I  am  unable  to  contribute  any  incident 
or  fact  from  personal  observation  that  would 
tend  to  sustain  the  contention,  other  than 
that  which  might  be  derived  from  the  illus- 
tration of  the  effect  of  cries  of  distress. 
Nevertheless  while  I  think  some  of  the  stories 
are  based  more  on  imagination  than  war- 
ranted by  facts,  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief 
that  there  is  truth  in  some  of  the  observa- 
tions, and  that  individuals  in  the  lower  orders 
of  life  where  necessary  and  useful  in  carrying 
out  their  part  in  the  order  of  things,  have 
some  way  of  communicating  one  with  another. 
For  the  purpose  of  this  discussion  it  is  im- 
material what  the  means  of  communications 
might  be.  whether  the  agency  be  touch,  sound 
or  something  else.  All  we  want  to  know  is 
that  individuals  are  influenced  to  acts  by  the 
sounds  uttered  or  by  actions  of  other  indi- 
viduals. This  would  establish  the  possession 
of  communicative  power  which  signifies  the 
existence  of  some  degree  of  mentality. 

It  is  no  more  than  speculation  to  assume 
that  the  lower  forms  of  life  in  carrying  out  the 
parts  nature  planned  for  their  existence  a»« 
wholly  under  the  guidance  of  instinct.  This  as- 
sumption must  be  based  on  man's  experience 
in  involuntary  actions,  impulsive  acts  without 
distinct  apprehension  of  the  end  or  the  object. 
In  other  words,  it  is  known  from  human  ex- 
periences that  at  times  man  acts  instinctively, 
therefore  it  is  assumed  that  the  acts  of  ani- 
mals must  be  instinctive.  The  assumption 
would  be  more  logical  if  it  were  not  attempted 
to  make  instinct  the  sole  guidance.  In  fact 
it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  impossible  to 
account  for  some  of  the  wonderful  actions  of 
numerous  beings,  especially  those  well  down 
in  the  scale  of  animal  life,  without  attributing 
instinct  as  the  motive  power. 

It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suggest  the  pos- 
sibility that  animal  instinct  might  be  some- 
thing deeper  and  broader  in  5ts  scope  than  the 
instinct  manifested  by  humans.  Certainly  ani- 
mal life,  more  particularly  as  the  scale  is  de- 
scended, has  greater  need  for  it.  We  know  that 
in  comparison  many  forms  of  lower  life  are 
endowed  with  the  senses  of  sight,  smell,  hear- 
ing and   touch,   so   far   superior      to      anything 


106 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


^..**.r**S£ 


\  02 

;!  W 

a  § 

;  g- 

[J  02  ^h 

1  ^< 

i  £^ 

I  SfeQ 

y  aog 
Boh 


A  M 


■'j**^ 


Is 


M 

eg 

0 

S 

02 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


107 


possessed  by  mankind  that  they  appear 
miraculous  and  may  well  be  unbelievable  with- 
out witnessing  some  of  the  acts  demon- 
strating the   truth   of  it. 

However,  the  endowment  of  such  instinct 
does  not  of  necessity  preclude  the  possession 
of  some  degree  of  intellect  that  gives  con- 
sciousness and   impels  rational  actions. 

By  vivisection  and  the  study  of  living  frogs, 
birds,  etc.,  and  certain  mammals,  biologists 
have  acquired  much  knowledge  of  the  func- 
tions of  certain  organs  and  actions  of  the  cen- 
tral nervous  system  in  man.  The  study  shows 
us  that  all  forms  of  animal  life,  including 
humans,  are  created  and  maintained  on  the 
same  general  principles  from  the  inception  to 
the  end  of  their  existence.  It  is  found  that 
the  digestive  organs  all  operate  to  the  same 
purpose  whether  in  a  beetle,  fish,  bird,  rat, 
horse  or  man.  It  is  the  same  with  the  breath- 
ing function  and  nerve  ganglia.  It  is  true 
there  are  some  creatures  so  far  down  in  the 
scale  of  life  as  to  be  devoid,  or  partially  so,  of 
the  mentioned  organs,  creatures  so  simply 
constructed  as  to  have  no  need  for  them.  But 
when  we  find  forms  of  life  possessing  all  the 
organs  possessed  by  man,  including  a  brain,  is 
it  not  logical  to  assume  that  in  a  general  way 
the  use  and  purpose  of  the  brain  in  one  is 
the  same  in  all?  At  the  same  time  it  should 
be  recognized  that  its  functional  power  in  the 
matter  of  intellectuality  and  rationality  is  de- 
veloped to  a  much  higher  degree  in  man  than 
in  any  other  form  of  life. 

It  is  true  we  are  not  justified  in  interpret- 
ing all  actions  of  the  lower  forms  of  life  in 
terms  of  our  own  experience  and  conscious- 
ness, but  when  we  witness  performances 
peculiar  to  individuals  of  a  species  manifesting 
reason,  judgment,  and  care  outside  of  the 
routine  of  instinctive  acts,  in  full  agreement 
with  our  experiences  under  the  same  condi- 
tions and  for  like  purposes,  it  seems  unrea- 
sonable to  believe  that  man  alone  is  the  only 
animal  possessing  consciousness  and  the 
power  of  reasoning. 

Of  all  the  published  statements  that  I  have 
read  of  observations  of  the  doings  and  life 
histories  of  certain  members  of  the  wasp 
family,  the  records  by  Geo.  W.  Peckham  and 
Elizabeth  G.  Peckham  are  the  most  complete, 
instructive,  reliable  and  unbiased.  In  using  this 
latter  word  I  have  in  mind  the  publications  of 
Fabre,  the  famous  French  naturalist,  on  the 
same  subject,  who  could  see  in  the  wonderful 
acts  of  these  little  insects  only  impulses  of 
instinct.  Accordingly  as  he  saw  them  all 
were  endowed  with  the  same  skill,  accomplish- 
ments and  peculiarities  of  work,  variations  be- 
ing shown  only  in  different  species. 

However,  the  Peckhams  say:  "In  this  species 
(Ammophila  unaria).  as  in  every  one  that  we 
have  studied,  we  have  found  a  most  interest- 
ing variation  among  different  individuals,  not 
only  in  methods  but  in  character  and  intel- 
lect. While  one  was  beguiled  by  every  sorrel 
blossom  she  passed,  another  stuck  to  her 
work  with  indefatigable  perserverance,  while 
one  stung  her  caterpillar  so  carelessly  and 
made  her  nest  in  so  shiftless  a  way  her  young 
could  only  survive  through  some  lucky  chance. 


another  devoted  herself  to  these  duties  not  only 
with  conscientious  thoroughness  but  with  an 
apparent  craving  after  artistic  perfection  that 
was  touching  to  see." 

Bearing  out  this  statment,  in  the  many  pages 
given  by  them  in  detailing  the  work  and  con- 
duct of  members  of  this  wasp  family,  we  find 
a  couple  of  paragraphs,  illustrating  their  claim 
from  which  the  following  are  extracts: 

"We  had  another  much  less  worthy  example, 
one,  indeed,  that  went  to  the  extreme  of  care- 
lessness. .  .  Her  nest  was  a  very  poor  affair 
just  beneath  the  surface,  and  after  the  cater- 
pillar was  carried  in  it  was  visible  from  above. 
She  filled  the  hole  with  loose  particles  of  earth 
and  then  scratched  the  surface  of  the  ground 
a  little  in  a  perfunctory  sort  of  way,  as  differ- 
ent as  possible  from  the  painstaking  labor  we 
had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  her  sisters." 

"Just  here  must  be  told  the  story  of  one 
little  wasp  whose  individuality  stands  out  in  our 
minds  more  distinctly  than  that  of  any  of  the 
others.  We  remember  her  as  the  most  fas- 
tidious and  perfect  little  worker  of  the  whole 
season,  so  nice  was  she  in  her  adaption  of 
means  to  ends,  so  busy  and  contented  in  her 
labor  of  love,  and  so  pretty  in  her  pride  over 
her  completed  work.  In  filling  (closing)  up 
her  nest  she  put  her  head  down  into  it  and  bit 
away  the  loose  earth  from  the  sides,  letting  it 
fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  burrow,  and  then, 
after  a  quantity  had  accumulated,  jammed  it 
down  with  her  head.  Earth  was  then  brought 
from  the  outside  and  pressed  in,  and  then  more 
was  bitten  from  the  sides.  When,  at  last,  the 
filling  was  level  with  the  ground,  she  brought 
a  quantity  of  fine  grains  of  dirt  to  the  spot 
and  picking  up  a  small  pebble  in  her  mandl- 
bels.  used  it  as  a  hammer  in  pounding  them 
down  with  rapid  strokes.  Before  we  could 
recover  from  our  astonishment  at  this  per- 
formance she  had  dropped  the  stone  and  was 
bringing  more  earth  We  threw  ourselves 
down  on  the  ground  that  not  a  motion  might 
be  lost,  and  in  a  moment  we  saw  h<jr  pick  up 
the  pebble  and  again  pound  the  earth  into 
place  with  it,  hammering  now  here  and  now 
there  until  all  was  level.  Once  more  the  whole 
process  was  repeated,  and  then  the  little  crea- 
ture, all  unconscious  of  the  commotion  that 
she  had  aroused  in  our  •  minds,  unconscious, 
indeed,  of  our  very  existence  and  intent  only 
on  doing  her  work  and  doing  it  well,  gave  one 
final,    comprehensive   glance   and   flew   away." 

Dr.  S.  W.  Williston  of  Kansas  University  a 
year  or  so  before  was  witness  to  a  similar 
act  by  an  Ammophila  and  concluded  his  de- 
scription of  the  incident  by  saying:  "the  things 
that  struck  us  as  most  remarkable  were  the 
unerring  judgment  in  the  selection  of  a  pebble 
of  precisely  the  right  size  to  fit  the  entrance 
and  the  use  of  a  small  pebble  in  smoothing 
down  and  packing  the  soil  over  the  opening, 
together  with  the  instinct  that  taught  them 
to  remove  every  evidence  that  the  earth  had 
been   disturbed." 

H.  W.  Bates  relates  the  intelligent  acts  of  a 
certain  wasp,  the  Monedula  signata.  which 
convinced  him  that  they  were  directed  by  a 
reasoning  power,  and  were  more  than  an  im- 
pulse of  instinct.     Thomas  Belt,  another  au- 


108 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


thority,  tells  how  a  wasp,  the  Polistes  carnifex, 
cut  a  large  caterpillar  in  two  parts  that  it 
might  convey  the  game  to  its  nest  more 
easily.  He  says:  "Being  at  the  cime  amidst  a 
thick  mass  of  fine-leaved  climbing  plant,  it 
proceeded,  before  flying  away,  to  take  note  of 
the  place  where  it  was  leaving  the  other  half. 
To  do  this,  it  hovered  in  front  of  it  for  a 
few  seconds,  then  took  small  circles  in  front 
of  it,  then  larger  ones  around  the  whole  plant. 
I  thought  it  had  gone,  but  it  returned  again 
and  had  another  look  at  the  opening  down 
which  the  other  half  of  the  caterpillar  lay. 
When  the  wasp  came  back  and  took  the  re- 
maining part  of  the  caterpillar,  it  did  not  stop 
to  make  any  survey  of  the  place  but  flew  direct 
to  its  nest." 

The  Peckhams  commenting  on  these  inci- 
dents say  both  of  the  above  writers  believe 
that  many  of  the  actions  of  insects  that  are  as- 
cribed to  instinct  are  really  evidence  of  the 
possession  of  a  certain  amount  of  reasoning 
power. 

Belt  also   noted  in   his  studies  and   observa- 
tion   of   the    work    of    wasps    in    building   and 
provisioning  their   nests  that  some   individuals 
were  much   more   clever  in      their     operations 
than  others,  as  must  be  the  case  where  reason 
through    intellectual    power     is     the    directing 
force  instead  of  instinct  alone.     Instinct  only, 
was   Fabre's   hobby   and    it   was   his   argument 
that    under    the    same    conditions    and.  in    the 
same   occupation  they  would  act  exactly  alike 
and  after  having  performed  one  duty  of  their 
life  cycle,   could  not  be  induced  to  repeat  the 
act.     The  observations  and  records  of  the  au- 
thorities quoted   give  numerous  facts  that  are 
inconsistent    with    the    theory    of    the    French 
naturalist,   and  an   incident,  which  I  have  de- 
tailed in  a  previous  chapter,  that  recently  came 
under  my  own  observation  also  seems  to  con- 
tradict  his  theory.      This  was  the   case   where 
the  stem  of  a  nest  of  Polistes  had  been  broken 
so  that  the  nest  remained   suspended   by   only 
a  fibre.     As  soon  as  the  wasps  discovered  the 
damage  they  immediately  proceeded  to  repair 
the  stem.     In  a  few  hours  the  work  was  thor- 
oughly  done   and   the   nest   was   as   firmly   at- 
tached to  its  base  as  ever.     Now  if  the  Polistes 
were  guided  by  instinct  alone  they  would  have 
possessed   no  reasoning  power  to   tell   them   of 
the  damage  and  danger  to  their  habitation,  or 
inform    them    what   was   necessary   to   avert   a 
disaster.      Recognition   of  the   damage   implies 
a  certain  amount  of  intelligence  and  reasoning 
power.        If     actuated    by    instinct    alone  and 
possessing  no  power  to  reason,  how  could  they 
know   that   the   nest  was   in   danger   of  falling 
and  how  could  they  be  expected  to  repair  what 
instinct  only  impelled   or  required   of  them   to 
build    once   in   their   lives?      As  Fabre   says   in 
his   observation   of  the   work   of  a   mason   bee 
when  he  attempted  to  induce  it  to  repair  a  cell, 
that  having  complied  with  the  demands  of  in- 
stinct  it   had    done   the   thing   once   and    could 
not   be   made   to   understand    the   necessity   of 
repeating  the  act. 

Fabre  in  accrediting  instinct  as  the  sole 
impulse  guiding  the  acts  of  the  wasp  and 
bees  said  that  it  was  a  marvelous  force  and 
acts  under   it   were  unerring,   and   that   in   the 


proficiency  with  which  certain  wasps  used  their 
stings  in  capturing  insects  as  provender  for 
their  young  they  rivaled  the  skill  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  best  surgeons.  They  were  always 
unerring  in  stabbing  their  victims  so  as  to 
cause  a  paralyzed  condition  and  not  death,  as 
it  was  essential  that  the  larvae  which  were  to 
feed  on  the  helpless  insects  should  have  fresh 
meat. 

The  observations  of  the  Peckhams  in  this 
country  do  not  altogether  agree  with  the  con- 
clusions of  Fabre.  They  found  almost  uni- 
versally in  making  a  great  many  examinations 
that  some  wasps  were  more  clever  than  others 
in  inflicting  the  stab,  and  that  some  of  even 
the  most  skillful  wasps  sometimes  caused  death 
instead  of  paralysis,  and  in  several  cases  deaths 
predominated,  and  moreover  that  "fresh  meat" 
did  not  appear  essential  to  the  growth  and 
maturity  of  the  larvae,  for  they  found  them 
feeding  on  dead  insects  with  undiminished 
appetities.  The  variation  in  skill  is  what 
might  be  expected  where  intellect  takes  a  part 
with  instinct  as  the  guiding  force.  In  saying 
this  it  is  not  with  the  purpose  of  disparaging 
to  show  that  even  a  great  naturalist  may  pos- 
sibly have  erred  in  the  interpretation  of  some 
of  the  acts  of  bees  and  wasps  when  making 
studies  and  searching  for  testimony  to  sustain 
a  preconceived  theory  held  in  relation  to  in- 
stinct and  reason  in  the  insect  world. 

Thp  Peckhams  in  the  records  of  the  years 
of  study  and  observation  devoted  to  the  wasp 
family,  tell  many  interesting  facts  of  the  do- 
ings of  individuals  of  several  species,  and  next 
to  the  story  of  the  Ammophila  using  the 
"stone  hammer,"  the  facts  related  about  the 
wasp  that  occasionally  hung  its  game  in  the 
crotch  of  a  plant  when  necessary  to  protect  it 
from  ants  while  digging  a  nest,  stand  out  as 
some  of  the  strongest  bits  of  evidence  that  at 
times  at  least,  certain  wasps  act  with  intelli- 
gence and  as  if  inspired  by  reason.  The  wasp 
credited  with  the  exhibition  of  so  much  judg- 
ment and  care  is  known  as  Pompilus  quin- 
quenotatus  who  confines  her  search  and  cap- 
ture to  one  certain  kind  of  spider,  the  Epeira 
strix.  After  the  capture  of  a  spider  it  is  stung 
which  either  causes  its  death  or  complete 
paralysis.  The  Peckhams  say:  "A  suitable 
place  for  the  nest  being  found  the  spider  is 
very  prettily  taken  care  of  while  the  work  is  in 
progress.  A  plant,  usually  a  bean  or  a  sorrel, 
is  chosen,  and  the  spider  is  hung  in  the  crotch 
of  a  branching  stem,  where  it  will  be  safe 
from  the  depredations  of  ants.  This  precau- 
tion is  not  always  taken.  We  have  many  times 
seen  the  spider  left  on  the  ground,  although 
there  were  plenty   of  plants  at  hand." 

This  story  points  to  another  fact  that  in- 
dividuals of  the  same  specie  do  not  do  the 
same  thing  in  the  same  way  under  the  same 
conditions,  as  must  be  the  case  where  instinct 
and  not  reason  is  the  guildlng  force. 

From  another  very  interesting  incident,  in- 
dicating rational  intellect  on  the  part  of  a 
Pompilus  Soelestus,  a  wasp  of  the  Pompilidae 
family,  recorded  by  the  Peckhams,  we  take 
the  following: 

"It  was  half-past  one  wh^n  she  suddenly 
appeared    near    the    nest     coming     backward 


WILD  LIFE  IN  CALIFORNIA 


109 


through  the  fence,  and  dragging  a  large 
Lycosid  (a  spider).  This  she  laid  down  close 
by  and  began  to  bite  at  the  legs  quite  after  the 
manner  of  the  wasp  we  had  seen  the  year  be- 
fore. Her  movements  were  full  of  nervous  ex- 
citement, in  marked  contrast  to  those  of  the 
previous  day.  Presently  she  went  to  look  at 
her  nest,  and  seemed  to  be  struck  with  a 
thought  that  had  already  occurred  to  us — that 
it  was  decidedly  too  small  to  hold  the  spider. 
Back  she  went  for  another  survey  of  her  bulky 
victim,  measuring  it  with  her  eye,  without 
touching  it,  drew  her  conclusions,  and  at  once 
returned  to  the  nest  and  began  to  make  it 
larger.  We  have  several  times  seen  wasps  en- 
large their  holes  when  a  trial  had  demon- 
strated that  the  spider  would  not  go  in,  but 
♦his  seemed  a  remarkably  intelligent  use  of 
the  comparative  faculty.  .  .  .  While  she 
was  thus  employed  the  spider  was  attacked  by 
a  very  tiny  red  ant  that  could  not  by  any 
possibility  have  moved  it.  When  the  wasp 
caught  sight  of  this  insignificant  marauder 
sne  fell  into  a  fit  of  wild  fury,  and  bending 
her  abdomen  under,  seized  the  ant  again  and 
again  in  her  mandibles  and  flung  it  backward 
against  the  tip  of  her  sting.  The  little  creature 
finally  escaped,  seeming  none  the  worst  for 
♦he  rough  handling  to  which  it  had  been  sub- 
jected, while  the  wasp,  still  trembling  with 
excitement,  grasped  her  spider  and  rushed  off 
to  a  distance  of  several  feet,  carrying  it  up  on 
a  weed  and  depositing  it  there."  The  wasp  then 
resumed  her  work  at  the  nest  and  when  in 
about  a  half  hour  it  was  sufficiently  enlarged 
to  allow  the  spider  to  be  taken  into  it,  she  went 
to  the  weed  where  she  had  hung 'up  her  game 
to  protect  it  from  ants,  took  it  down  and  into 
the  nest,  and  then  closed  up  the  entrance  by 
scratching  back  the  earth  that  had  been  taken 
out  in  excavating  the  hole. 

A  volume  might  be  written  embracing  the 
details  of  acts  on  the  part  of  individuals  be- 
longing to  higher  orders  of  life,  indicating 
beyond  question  the  endowment  of  intellect 
and  that  reason  to  some  extent  was  the  guiiing 
force.  Such  stories  might  relate  more  to  the 
doings  of  domesticated  animals  and  birds,  but 
that  fact  should  not  detract  from  the  claim 
of  existence  of  reason.  With  the  same  oppor- 
tunity for  observation  in  wild  life  undoubtedly 
much  would  be  seen  that  would  confirm  the 
belief  that  the  brain  in  the  lower  forms  of 
animal  life  was  designed  by  nature  to  fulfill 
in  a  measure  at  least  the  same  purposes  as 
the  brain  in  the  highest  form  of  life.  All 
forms  of  animal  life  above  the  worm  and  sim- 
ilar forms  are  constructed  on  the  same  general 
plan,   and   supposedly  all   originated   from   one 


common  source.  It  seems  irrational,  there- 
fore, to  deny  the  possession  of  functional  power 
of  an  organ  in  one  division  of  life  which  is  so 
commonly  known  in  all  others,  and  so  import- 
ant and  essential  to  the  well-being  and  pro- 
gress of  all. 

Of  course  I  do  not  credit  to  animals  or  wasps 
any  such  degree  of  reasoning  or  intelligence 
as  that  enjoyed  by  mankind.  It  ought  to  be 
unnecessary  to  say  it.  However,  it  seems  plain 
to  me  that  the  power  of  reason  is  manifested, 
in  degree,  as  we  go  down  the  scale  of  life  until 
we  reach  the  very  lowest  forms  where,  in  the 
absence  of  a  brain,  it  is  wholly  replaced  by 
instinct  as  a  guiding  force.  Instinct  probably 
warns  the  worm  of  an  impending  danger;  it 
contracts  itself,  but  has  not  mentality  to  direct 
other  action  to  avoid  it.  Instinct  is  an  im- 
pulse to  action,  and  reason  the  force  to  guide 
it  when  choice  of  direction  is  required.  In  the 
highest  forms  of  life  reason  is  supreme  and 
instinct  cuts  a  small  figure  as  a  guiding  force, 
but  this  order  of  things  changes  as  we  drop 
down  the  scale  of  life  until  we  reach  a  point 
where  it  is  reversed,  and  where  instinct  is 
developed  to  a  degree  as  amazing  in  its  won- 
derful scope  and  marvelous  in  its  accomplish- 
ments as  is  reason  and  intellect  at  the  other 
end  of  the  scale  in  the  highest  form  of  life, 
mankind.  I  found  in  one  of  the  books  of  the 
eminent  English  naturalist,  Thomas  Belt,  that 
the  author  had  been  prompted  to  give  his  views 
on  this  subject  after  observing  a  wasp  capture 
an  insect,  then  put  it  in  a  place  of  security 
temporarily.  After  describing  the  actions  of 
the  wasp  in  familiarizing  herself  with  the 
locality,  Mr.  Belt  says:  "Such  action  is  not 
the  result  of  blind  instinct  but  of  a  thinking 
mind;  and  it  is  wonderful  to  see  an  insect  so 
differently  constructed  using  a  mental  process 
similar  to  that  of  man.  It  is  suggestive  of  the 
probability  of  many  of  the  actions  of  insects, 
that  we  ascribe  to  instinct,  being  the  result  of 
the  possession  of  reasoning  powers." 

In  another  place  in  his  book  Mr.  Belt  says: 
"Can  it  not  be  contended  that  such  insects 
(ants)  are  able  to  determine  by  reasoning 
powers  which  is  the  best  way  of  doing  a  thing, 
and  their  actions  are  guided  by  thought  and 
reflection?  This  view  is  very  much  strength- 
ened by  the  fact  that  cerebral  gangia  in  ants 
are  more  developed  than  in  any  other  insect 
and  that  in  all  the  Hymenoptera,  at  the  head 
of  which  they  stand,  'they  are  many  times 
larger  than  in  the  less  intelligent  order,  such 
as  beetles.'  " 

The  quotation  within  the  concluding  quota- 
tion is  from  Darwin's  "Descent  of  Man." 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.    The  Desert  of  Southern  California   5 

II.    The  Hated  Invader    25 

HI.    The  Black  Widow   33 

IV.     Nesting  in  a  Bottle 39 

V.     Interesting    Experiences    45 

VI.    Carpenter   Bees    47 

VII.    In  the  Wilds  of  Mendocino  51 

VIII.    Diablo    Canyon    63 

IX.    Astute   Beetles   and   Wasps    67 

X.    Stories  About  Digging  Wasps    73 

XL    Wonders  of  the   Leaf 81 

XII.    The  Battle  of  Life   88 

XIII.  Wild   Life    93 

XIV.  A  Plucky  Wasp 99 

XV.    Instinct  or  Reason   103 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Drawings  by  the  Author. 

Page 

The  Author's  Quarters  While  in  Palm  Springs    4 

In  Palm  Canyon   10 

Andreas   Canyon    10 

The  Desert,  near  Palm  Springs 14 

The  Palm  Canyon  Nature  Man 14 

Waterfall,  Tahquitz  Canyon,  near  Palm  Springs 18 

Barrel  Cactus,  near  Palm   Springs 18 

The  "Desert  Canary,"  near  Palm  Springs 22 

San  Jacinto  Range,  facing  the  Desert 22 

Honey  Ant,  as  it  Appears  when  Inflated  with  Honey,  Stored  for  Future  Use. . .  24 

The  Male  Form  of  the  Argentine  Ant 26 

The   Queen    28 

The  Worker  of  the  Argentine  Ants.    From  Drawing  by  Miss  Charlotte  M.  King  30 

The  Black  Widow  Catches  Flies  with  Her  Hind  Feet 32 

The  Black  Widow  in  Captivity 34 

The  Head  of  the  Kissing  Bug   36 

The  Reduviidae — The  Kissing  Bug  38 

Baby  Wasp    40 

The  Wasp  Nest  in  the  Bottle •  .42 

The  Skunk  that  Raided  and  Destroyed  the  Wasp  Nest  in  the  Bottle 43 

Carpenter  Bee — Natural  Size    46 

Dead  Tree  Stump,  Showing  Occupancy  by  Carpenter  Bees 48 

Deerwood     50 

Flag-Raising  at  Deerwood   52 

Looking  Out  the  Ampitheatre,  Deerwood 52 

House  at  Deerwood   54 

Tumble  Bug  Rolling  its  Pill 54 

Bee   Tunnels   56 

Bombardier  Beetle  " 58 

Valley  at  the  Head  of  Diablo  Canyon 62 

Lake  at  Lower  End  of  Diablo  Canyon 62 

Sketch  from  Life  of  One  of  the  Larger  Species  of  Robber  Flies 66 

Wood  Boring  Beetles 68 

Wasps  Commonly  Seen  About  Habitations  in  the  Country 70 

Wasp  Carrying  Rock  from  Hole 74 

Wasp  Dragging  Locust  to  Its  Nest 76 

Masonry  Work— Roof  of  a  Wasp  Hole 78 

Brazil  Water  Lily   80 

A  Sprouted  Acorn — Beginning  of  the  Oak  Tree  82 

Oak  Leaves  Beginning  to  Grow 87 

Monument  on  Summit  of  Mt.  Diablo 92 

General  View  from  Diablo  Country  Club  Grounds 94 

Lake  of  the  Diablo  Country  Club 98 

A   Plucky   Wasp 100 

The   Wasp  Ammophlia   Urnaria    104 

Spider  Hunting  Wasp    106 


I  1MB 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


MAY  26  1948 


2SJur60BS 


JUL  12*° 

REC'D  LD 

MAR  9    1962 


LD  21-100m-9,,47(A5702sl6)476 


20£b'Q  QA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


mm 


